Summer Snaps
by Aqua666
Summary: This short story will chronicle Harry's summers. It will become AU after Harry's fourth year but I won't write the school years, only summers. I'm writing it for the Summer Ficfest over at Potions and Snitches, so Snape and Harry will become friendly at some point.
1. Chapter 1

This is a short fic I'm writing for the Summer Challenge over at Potions and Snitches.

It will be chronicle Harry's summer from the year he was born until the summer after his fourth year, maybe a few more I'm not certain.

I'm going for sort of a countdown model. Chapter one has 5 summers, chapter two had 4, chapter three will have 3, chapter four will have 2 summers and chapter five will only have one. Chapter six will be the start the summer after Voldemort returns. I don't know how many chapters that summer will last as that summer is where this story will go AU.

The first five chapters are things that might have happened during those times, they do not change anything in the books.

I'm looking for someone to beta this, so if you'd like to help, let me know.

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

Harry's very first summer was a short summer, as he was born right in the middle of it. He was born at Potter Park, the grand mansion that belonged to his grandparents, as that was where his parents were hiding. It was a warm summer, though his family never noticed for they were locked up inside, hiding from the evil that was hunting them.

The day Harry was born, his mum screamed and screamed for hours. It was the 31th of July, hours before midnight, before safety. His mother had cried and begged anyone who would listen, for her baby to be born a little later. But she was already in labour and there was nothing to be done. Little Harry wanted out to meet is Mummy and Daddy.

His father consoled his mother, told her everything would be fine. They would stay in hiding for as long as was necessary, they would protect their baby boy. Harry was only moments away from the safety his mother had asked for when he finally met is mummy and daddy. At 11:46 pm, a little boy was born, his head covered with black strands and big green eyes looking around the room.

The rest of the summer was joyful, but exhausting, for everyone at Potter Mansion. Harry was a happy baby with so much energy that he rarely slept for more than four hours each day. But he was loved and cared for by the whole household, and the household was loved by him.

It was a shame Harry would never remember that summer, or the next one. As those would be the only happy summers for many years to come.

~*~ HP ~*~

During his second summer, Harry still wasn't allowed outside the house. Something that was a lot harder than the previous summer. They had moved into a smaller home after Harry's grandparents had died, severely limiting the amount of freedom little Harry had. Harry had grown a lot, and was just learning to walk. But no matter, Harry was only a baby and little babies could run around inside even if they bumped into walls once in a while.

That summer also included Harry's first birthday. Paddy had brought him a broom and Harry loved flying around. It was so much easier than walking. Mummy didn't like the broom but Daddy and Paddy loved to see him fly. Harry flew around the house with glee, giggling madly whenever his Mummy tried to catch him.

One time, Harry crashed into a wall so hard, his lip started to bleed. Mummy, Daddy, Paddy and Moony were all there before he could start crying. While Mummy looked at him with concern, Paddy started tickling him and Harry forgot he ever got hurt. He didn't even notice when Daddy used a handkerchief to clean the blood from his lip. Daddy and Paddy declared him to be a natural Quidditch player and told Mummy he would be the first beater to use his head as a bat.

That summer wasn't just the last happy summer of his childhood, it was also his last summer with magic. And Harry loved magic. Every time he made a mess, Mummy waved her stick and poof, everything was clean again. And Daddy was really good at making things fly. Paddy had even made Harry fly once but Daddy had grabbed him out of the air, scolding Paddy for 'risking Lily's wrath'.

~*~ HP ~*~

Harry's third summer was bad. He had moved again, and his family had disappeared. No more mummy or daddy, no more Paddy and Moony, no more Ally and Nev. But Harry had already gotten used to that the past year. As he had gotten used to spending hours in the dark room.

What made that summer extra bad, was that it was warm and he was all alone. Before, he had to stay inside but at least he was always comfortable. And there were always people willing to play with him. Now, he had to stay inside in the stifling heat while he watched his Auntie and Duddy playing in the yard. The one time he had tried to join them, Auntie had pulled him inside and locked him in his little room, where it was even warmer than it was in the rest of the house.

To top of the terrible time he was having, Harry got sick for the very first time in his life. It was really bad, much worse than the cold Duddy had a few months earlier. Duddy had been cuddled and spoiled until he was better again. Harry was locked in his room with a bucket for any waist he might produce. Auntie told him he could come out when he was better and not to bother them until then. It was the first time they left him in there for longer than two days, but it would not be the last.

~*~ HP ~*~

Harry's fourth summer was much the same. He stayed inside while his family was having fun outside. He still wanted to join them, but had learned there was no use in trying. Auntie and Duddy would never let him join. No matter how quiet he was, one of them would see and then Auntie would lock him in his room again.

So that year, Harry had decided that he should go outside alone. He wouldn't go far, just outside to sit on the lawn in front of the house. Auntie had said to stay out of their way. What better place to do that than the front lawn, where they only came when they left the house.

Harry had sat on the lawn for a few hours every day, looking around happily. There wasn't much to do, nothing but grass and bugs to play with. But little Harry found an ant hill on his second day outside, and enjoyed watching the little creatures come and go. He was fascinated by the little trains the ants made to carry one big leaf. He'd searched for other leaves and put them closer to the ants, just so he could see them move it around.

Harry had two full weeks of sunshine when Auntie finally discovered him. Apparently, she had wondered why the child wasn't as pale as before, and had spied on him to find out what he was up to. When she found him, she picked him up and carried him quickly inside.

For a moment, Harry had been so happy to be picked up that he put his head on her shoulder. But Auntie had dropped him on the ground as soon as the front door was closed. She'd yelled at him for allowing the neighbours to see him and pushed him towards his room. He'd been locked in there for the rest of the day and had cried at the loss of his ant hill until he fell asleep.

~*~ HP ~*~

The summer of Harry's fourth birthday was marginally better than the last two summers. Unlike before, this year Harry was allowed to leave the house. It had started in the spring when Harry had followed his aunt when she went out to weed the garden. Harry had picked up the bucket his aunt had put aside and had followed her around. Petunia had sneered at him when she noticed but had allowed him to stay.

For weeks, little Harry had thought it was a sign that she didn't mind his presence so much any longer. Until one day, his aunt had pushed the basket in his hand and told him to go take care of the garden himself. He'd been very disappointed for days. Weeding the garden was the only thing Harry and his aunt did together, and now she didn't want to help any more.

Soon though, Harry was happy that he was allowed to be outside for a few hours. Even if he was no good at weeding the garden, Harry loved the time in the sun. It was so much better than the damp heat in his room.

 **Please leave a review and help me win the challenge (A)**


	2. Chapter 2

Second chapter of Summer Snaps.

Hope you enjoy it :D

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

In the summer of 1985 many things happened. The hole in the ozone layer was discovered, the famous Route 66 was closed, and Back to the Future opened in theatres. For little Harry, it was the summer he made a friend.

Mrs. Figg had gone on vacation for two of the hottest week of the year and Dudley had thrown several tantrums because he wasn't allowed to go swimming. So, Aunt Tunia had given in and taken both of the boys to the swimming pool.

Having never been given any decent clothes, Harry had to swim in the enormous shorts that were bound around his waist with a tin string. He didn't care though, not even when Dudley was laughing at him. He was at the pool and he was going to have fun.

Splashing around in the kiddie pool, Harry was enjoying himself immensely when he was suddenly joined by little girl around his own age. They started a water-fight and little Harry had the best time ever. He laughed so much, he was actually starting to get a bit of a tummy-ache. But he didn't care, he'd finally made a friend.

But not long after they met, Dudley showed up. And like every time Harry had something, Dudley took it away. He kicked and hit the little girl. Said mean things and pulled her hair. At first Harry tried to get the girl away from his mean cousin, but Dudley just followed them. Then the girl started crying and her mummy came to comfort her.

Dudley vanished as soon as the woman arrived but Harry stayed, concerned over his new friend. But when the woman had quieted her child and told her to go find daddy, she turned to Harry with a stern look. The girl's mother hadn't seen Dudley. She'd only seen Harry pulling on her little girl's arm.

Harry didn't try to convince her that he'd only meant to get her away from Duddy. He knew how this would go. Even if the woman believed him now, she would still take him to see Aunt Tunia. His aunt would apologize to the woman for Harry's behaviour and then, when they where away from all the people, she would yell and punish Harry. If the woman told his aunt that Harry had incriminated Dudley, the punishment would be ten times worse.

So Harry bit his lip and looked down at his bare feet while the woman took him to his aunt. She told Aunt Tunia what she had seen and scolded her for not paying more attention to her son. Harry wanted to cry when he heard that, his aunt would not like being told off. Harry would pay for the comment, he just knew it.

They left the swimming pool immediately after the woman returned to her family, with Dudley screaming out his disagreement. In the car, Harry huddled against the door, trying to tune out his aunt's screeching while avoiding Dudley's fists.

When they finally returned home, Aunt Tunia pushed him into the cupboard. Harry sat down with a sigh and started preparing himself for the days of loneliness that would follow. Already resigned to going without food, he could only hope someone would remember to let him go to the bathroom.

~*~ HP ~*~

The summer of Harry's sixth birthday was another terrible summer for Harry. At the start of the summer, aunt Petunia had finally allowed him to cook all on his own. Something Harry had been looking forward to. He was allowed to do the cleaning and gardening by himself, but he didn't like those chores as much as he liked cooking. Finally being able to cook without his aunt yelling at him the whole time seemed like an adventure, something fun all for himself.

But Harry was still very small, making it incredibly hard for him to look into the pots and pans. He'd managed to cook the eggs perfectly but the bacon turned out to be too hard. Unable to see the meat while it was on the fire, Harry was left to guess when it would be done. He guessed wrong. Smelling a faint burned smell, Harry tried to take the pan of the fire. The handle was still a bit hot and Harry let the pan tip sideways. The bacon slipped out and fell directly onto the fire.

Not knowing what to do, Harry yelled for his aunt. He knew he shouldn't, but what else was a child supposed to do? There was a fire and he wasn't big enough to stop it. His aunt came running into the kitchen and started yelling right away. She doused the fire quickly and turned to Harry furiously. Grabbing his arm, she pulled the child to the hallway and threw him into the cupboard.

They left him in the cupboard without food for over a week. After which, they allowed him to have a single slice of bread each day. He was given the right to use the bathroom twice a day but he wasn't allowed out of his cupboard for any other reason for the rest of the summer.

~*~ HP ~*~

The summer of 1987 was much better than any Harry could remember. During the school year, Harry and his classmates had been taken to the library ones every two weeks. Parents had been encouraged to give their children a library card so they could lend books, something that the Dursleys obviously refused to do for Harry. That hadn't stopped Harry from enjoying the time there though. Every other week he had an hour to sit in a secluded part of the library, between the history and philosophy sections, and read one of the many books.

His progress through the stack of books he wanted to read was slow going, since he only had access to the books during a very short interval. But Harry had resolved to go more often during his vacations, and he had been doing so since Christmas. His aunt and uncle forbade him to go anywhere but home after school, but they were always lacks during the breaks. Harry figured it was probably because they hated him so much. They didn't want him inside their house for long periods of time, lest he contaminate their precious space with his freakiness.

Harry wasn't bothered with the insults any longer. He had well and truly given up on his relatives. He didn't know why, but he knew they hated him. They would never care for him, no matter what he did, and so Harry had stopped caring. Living with them was still hard though. The constant chores his aunt gave him, the screaming lectures from his uncle, and the punches from his cousin made sure of that. But Harry noticed that it was a lot easier to deal with it all if he just stayed away as much as possible.

And so, during the summer vacation, Harry took to spending almost all of his time at the library. He still had to do the chores of course, but he had learned to finish them all before lunch. After he'd made the sandwiches for Dudley, he could sneak out the house while his aunt was too busy with her precious little boy to give Harry any more chores.

Harry had started with easy books, silly tales meant for little children, but he'd continued on to more advanced material pretty quickly. He had particularly liked Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, though he had been disappointed with the sequel. A flying lift, as if.

He didn't really like any of the books with magic, they were just too fantastical. His aunt and uncle always said that magic wasn't real, and Harry had no time for things that weren't real. Reading about magical lands would only make him wish that he could have been born there. Then maybe he could use some kind of spell to make his little cupboard larger, or better yet, bring his parents back.

But none of that was possible and so, Harry didn't dream. Instead, he stuck to the more sensible books. Like Sherlock Holmes, which seemed a lot more sensible to Harry. After all, the man was all about logic and nothing was more real than that.

~*~ HP ~*~

The summer of Harry's eight birthday was once again a terrible one. For almost two years, Harry had been able to hide his regular trips to the library from his relatives. They hadn't cared and Harry had liked it that way. But then Dudley had to go and ruin it.

During one of the hottest days yet, Harry been weeding the garden when Dudley and his gang had showed up. They had pestered him continually, making Harry's work all the harder. It had taken him two hours longer than normal to finish his work for the day, and his aunt was already cleaning up lunch when he finally came inside.

He'd tried to sneak past his aunt but was caught when the door creaked. Pulling him by his shirt, his aunt glared at him and asked why he was inside when he was supposed to be taking care of the garden. Harry had answered that he was already done and so, his aunt had given him more work to do. Little Harry had finished as quickly as he could but by the time he was done, it was already time for dinner.

The next day, harry had ones again finished weeding before lunch. Dudley and his gang had gone to bully some other kids and Harry had been able to do his job without constant interruptions. But when he went inside to clean his hands, his aunt was waiting for him with a glare. She gave him enough extra chores to keep him busy until the evening. Leaving Harry no choice but to resign himself to another day without the books he had come to love.

This happened for several say in a row. Until one day, Harry was able to sneak out before his aunt noticed he was done with what was now his first set of chores for the day. He'd gone to the library and spend a wonderful afternoon reading some kind of mythology book. It wasn't a book about magic, just about the things people used to believe. It was just enough to keep him from panicking at the thought of being found out. Reading a book he might be able to explain. Reading about magic would get him locked up in the cupboard for at least a week.

When he returned home however, his aunt was furious that he hadn't been there to do his second set of chores. All through dinner she had yelled at him, while he just sat there looking forlornly at the empty plate in front of him. If only he was allowed to eat something, maybe her screams wouldn't hurt so much.

For the following week, his aunt kept a close eye on him. With no chance to escape, Harry just did his chores as asked before he went to his cupboard in the hopes to be left alone. Sadly enough, his aunt came to assign him more work if he was in there for more than 10 minutes.

Eventually though, his aunt lapsed when she planned a shopping trip. Most days, she would go to the store shortly after breakfast and be back before Harry had finished the garden. But that morning Dudley had thrown a fit over a toy he had broken, and Harry's aunt had been unable to leave her little Duddikins in such a state. She'd left much later than usually and Harry had sneaked out as soon as he could.

He'd gone to the library again and had been quite happy for several hours. He was still reading from the mythology section and had just settled in with something about the Norse gods when his aunt stormed in. She'd dragged him out of there and towards the house without a word. She didn't speak as she opened the door, nor did she say a word when she pushed him in his cupboard and locked the door.

Harry had been confused as to how she had found him for a while, wondering if maybe she had seen him go inside somehow. But he couldn't fathom why she would have waited several hours before getting him. Not long after he'd been locked in, Dudley came to stand in front of the door. Chuckling maliciously he told him how he'd followed Harry when he'd snuck out. Harry wasn't surprised really, Dudley loved getting him into trouble. Closing his eyes, Harry ignored Dudley's taunts and tried to sleep. Hoping against hope that he would be allowed to leave by the time he woke again.

 _ **Don't forget those reviews! They are like air, a necessity to keep me alive and well long enough to finish this story.. :D**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The summer of Harry's ninth birthday started out as one of those unremarkable summers many children whined about ones school started again. Nobody wanted to be the child that didn't have a single summer story when school started again. Nobody except for Harry Potter that was.

Harry did his best to stay out of trouble and for the first six weeks of the summer that went perfectly well. Besides the occasional scolding from his aunt for not doing a chore correctly, nothing truly remarkable happened. Dudley's friends were away for the first three weeks, leaving Dudley to spend his days alone playing computer games.

By the time the gang returned, the Dursleys had gone on vacation and Harry was staying with Mrs. Figg for two weeks. Most of those weeks were spend learning the names of all her cats. But she also took him to the store a few times and even went swimming with him on an extremely warm Sunday.

Then the Dursleys came back and Harry continued his days doing chores. Nothing really happened for another week, as Dudley and his gang spend most of their time away from Privet Drive. The second to last week of the summer, the weather turned and Harry's luck followed.

Dudley and Piers were bored and came inside while Harry was making lunch. Sitting down Piers started insulting Harry, doing his best to get a laugh out of Dudley. Harry wasn't cooperation though, ignoring their efforts of taunting him and making their little game a lot less funny.

Soon Piers got frustrated and decided to take things into his own hands. Just as Harry was picking up the large plate with the sandwiches, Piers pushed him and the plate went flying. Afraid of getting punished, Harry scrambled and tried to catch the sandwiches before they fell to the floor. Somehow, he managed to catch every single one of them and ended up standing straight with a neatly stacked plate of sandwiches on the plate.

Both Dudley and Piers were staring at him with wide eyes. Afraid someone else had seen him, he looked around the kitchen and caught his aunt's gaze. The look on her face made him deflate instantly. She was mad. He'd done something that shouldn't have happened and he would be punished for it. No matter how hard he protested that he hadn't meant to do anything. With a sad sigh, he put the plate down on the table for the others and went to the cupboard. His aunt didn't say a word but followed him and locked the door as soon as he was in.

~*~ HP ~*~

In 1990 Dursley Dudley was given a bonus and the whole family went on vacation. Well, that is the family minus Harry Potter. It wasn't the first time the Dursleys went on vacation without him, nor would it be the last time. Under normal circumstances, Harry would have spend their vacation with Mrs. Fig, the crazy cat lady from across the street. She was a nice lady who gave Harry something to eat every time she saw him. So overall, Harry didn't really mind staying with her. If it hadn't been for her obsession with those cats of hers, he might even have liked it.

But sadly, Mrs. Figg was as mad as a hatter and so, Harry was overjoyed when, the day before the Dursleys were leaving, she called to say she wouldn't be back on time. Apparently there had been a storm in the north and the road back was littered with tree branches and would be inaccessible for at least two days. Uncle Vernon had thrown Harry into the cupboard after she'd hung up, saying that it was all his fault for causing the freaky whether in Scotland.

Harry was so used to being blamed for everything, he didn't even blink at his Uncle's ridiculous statement. So what if Harry had done some pretty freaky stuff over the years. Growing back his hair and flying onto a roof was nowhere near the enormity of changing the weather in the whole of Scotland. Though, Harry had to admit that changing the weather did seem more likely from a scientific standpoint. After all, they had created a tiny storm in a bottle not that long ago.

Not willing to give his family any more reason to punish him, Harry had stayed in the cupboard without complaint. Well, no verbal complaint. His stomach started complaining about the lack of food as soon as his aunt started cooking, but that couldn't be helped.

The next morning, neither is aunt, uncle of cousin woke him up to make breakfast. Instead, Harry was woken by the banging of suitcases being pulled through the little hall. After a few minutes of banging and cursing, the house went silent. Well, except for his uncle stomping through the hallway and banging on his door.

They were going on vacation and would not be back until the next week. Harry would have to stay home alone for two days. At which time, Mrs. Figg would be back and Harry was to go to her place. They would leave the door to the cupboard open since he had to get out himself in two days. That was not to make him think of leaving the cupboard though, as he was only allowed to do so if he needed to go to the bathroom, and he better make sure to go back to his room directly afterwards.

As his uncle closed and locked the front door behind himself, Harry let out a long sigh. He was alone. And he would stay that way for a whole week. He waited in his cupboard for a few hours just to make certain his family wasn't coming back for some reason or another. When he was sure they wouldn't, Harry left his cupboard and twirled around the house.

His uncle had disconnected the electricity, so Harry wouldn't have any light or heat for the next week, but he didn't really care. It was summer, the sun would provide him with both heat and light. Harry laughed and went upstairs to Dudley's rooms. Normally, he was only allowed in there when he needed to clean the rooms. Now though, Harry had the freedom to do as he pleased.

Grabbing some of the toys scattered around the room, Harry started playing to his heart's content. Around noon, he made himself some lunch and sat down with one of the many books Dudley had never even looked at. He spend the rest of the evening reading by the window where there was just enough light coming in from the streetlights.

The next day he read and had fun all day long. Normal children would be bored after playing alone for so long but Harry had never been so happy. Being able to play with all the toys, not only the ones Dudley had already broken, was something he'd always wanted to do. The fact that Dudley wasn't even there to complain about it was the cherry on top.

On the third day of Harry's vacation, he cleaned all the toys and did a quick sweep of the house before he left for Mrs. Figg's house. However, when he got to the house it turned out to be empty. Mrs. Figg wasn't home yet. Harry sat on the front step of the lady's house until it started to get dark. It seemed that Mrs. Figg wasn't really coming home after all.

Sighing, he went back to number four. But when he got there, he suddenly realized he'd closed the door. And he didn't have a key. Running around back he tried the backdoor, which turned out to be just as closed as the front. He looked around, trying to find an open window or a hidden key, until it was too dark to see. Resigning himself to staying out door for the rest of the vacation, he went into the shed and settled down.

Four days he spend there, only leaving the little shed ones a day to check if Mrs. Figg had come home yet. Which she didn't do until several days after the Dursleys had returned. Not wanting to upset his aunt and uncle, Harry made sure he was working on the garden when they finally returned. Surely, they would let him be if he was doing chores.

And he was right about that. The Dursleys returned and instantly called him to put away their suitcases. When they saw his appearance, his aunt sneered while his uncle grouched that he supposed that they should be grateful that he didn't stink as bad as those disgusting cats.

Harry put their stuff away obediently, had a quick shower and went to his cupboard. Stretching out on the mattress he sighed. His cupboard was small and sucked all around, but at least he had a mattress, blanket and makeshift pillow. That was more than he'd had the past week. Feeling the extra height beneath his head his smiled at himself. At least he'd been smart enough to hide a few books before he'd left for Mrs. Figg's house. Settling in, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

~*~ HP ~*~

The summer of Harry's eleventh birthday was one of those pivotal summers that changed everything. He'd started the summer thinking it would be just like any other. Well, except that he was going to another school next year and he wouldn't see Dudley for a whole year. So for once, he had something to look forward to.

But then Dudley's birthday came along and Harry broke the rules. He hadn't meant to do it. Well, he had meant to talk to the snake, no matter how much of a surprise it had been that the animal actually understood him. But when Dudley knocked him over he'd felt the flash of anger roll through him, and all of a sudden the glass was gone.

The resulting weeks of being locked up had been brutal. He was growing bigger, making it impossible for him to stretch out completely. When he was finally allowed out to do chores, he almost thanked his aunt for the work.

Then the first letter came and even though he had no idea what it said, it was the best thing to ever happen. Harry finally had his own room. Sure, it was the old room that Dudley used for storage. It still had a real bed and room enough to actually walk around. Not to mention that Harry knew that there were several loose floorboards he could use to hide stuff. Not that he had much but maybe he could use the space to hide all of Dudley's books before his cousin came to take back his toys.

But the next day more letters arrived and while Harry was elated at the chance to read whatever the letter contained, he was extremely disappointed when his uncle made them all get in the car and drove off. He should have expected it really. Getting the room had been too much good luck, of course they would be leaving after just one night. The fact that the room was switched for a place on the floor of a hotel room and later a spot on the rickety floor of the little shack should not have come as a surprise.

What happened when it was finally his birthday was something not even Harry could have imagined. Though, maybe he should have. His aunt and uncle always flipped when magic was mentioned. Not to mention how they reacted when something unexplainable happened. Was it not for the fact that they got pissed about a million and one other things, maybe he would have noticed.

Talking to Hagrid and learning about magic was the most amazing thing ever and had Harry convinced life couldn't get better. He was of course wrong, as he learned the following day. Diagon Alley was everything he could have wished for and more, had he known to wish for something at all.

When Harry finally returned to the Dursleys late that evening, his uncle sent him to his room without supper and ordered him to stay there. The rest of the summer was unpleasant but not as much as some of his previous summers. Dudley was now avoiding him like the plague and neither his aunt nor uncle even spoke to him. It had aggravated him at first but he got used to it pretty quickly.

He spend his day in his room, reading his schoolbooks and thoroughly enjoying all his fantasies of this new school he was going to. Soon enough he would be gone from the Dursleys for a whole year. Even better, he would be going to a school for Magic.


	4. Chapter 4

Snaps from the summers after Harry's first and second year.

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

The summer after Harry's first year at Hogwarts started out rather well. His family had come to get him from the station and had treated him very carefully ever since. Afraid that Harry might cast some kind of spell on them, they'd stayed as far away from him as possible. His aunt still made him do too many chores but at least he was allowed to eat some the food he cooked and nobody dared to stop him from getting a glass of water when he was thirsty.

Dudley and his gang stayed as far away from him as possible. Or at least, Dudley did. The gang tried to start trouble on the few occasions they saw Harry working in the garden, but Dudley always thought of some excuse to pull them away. Harry's cousin was afraid of him, had been since Hagrid had given him a tail last summer.

All of this would have been perfectly fine in Harry Potter's mind, if he could have had access to his stuff. He'd been prepared for his wand to be taken as soon as they got home. He had however, held out hope for his books. That was, until he stepped through the front door and his trunk with all his belonging inside were locked up in the cupboard.

So now, not only did he have to spend his days working his ass of. Never speaking with anybody unless he'd done something wrong and his aunt or uncle felt the need to yell at him. He had to spend his evenings in his room with absolutely nothing to do but think. To top it all off, none of his friends had written to him.

Without the constant reminders that things had changed, he might have come to believe he'd gone mad. For years, he had been alone, without friends. He'd been conditioned to believe magic didn't exist for over a decade. Magic had only been real to him for a year, which was not long at all when compared to the first decade of his life. Being back at Privet Drive, his friends strangely absent, could almost convince him that it hadn't been real.

But there was still Hedwig, who was currently making a racket over being locked in her cage. Harry didn't mind the noise, he understood her frustration. Being locked away was not fun, and when one was used to flying free it had to be even worse. Harry could only thank his luck star that his family welcomed it if he left the house as soon as he was done with his chores. At least he had a bit of freedom, which was more than he could say for Hedwig.

The freedom didn't last long though. Only a few weeks into the summer holiday, something unexpected happened. Harry was rather pissed at the little elf who had caused all the troubles. Not only had the creatures taken his letters, he had done magic and got Harry locked away. Now he would never get to see his friends again, and he still didn't know what they had written him.

Maybe, if Harry had been a different kind of person, he would have been somewhat scared of the creatures warning. He was quite certain that normal eleven year olds would stay away when they were told of a threat on their life but Harry was everything but normal. To him, Hogwarts was his home, the one place he felt safe. He wasn't going to let that be taken away from him, no matter what.

Being locked in his room was taking a toll on him though. Each day became harder. Hungry and bored, he started to worry if he would ever get out. Surely, somebody would come to get him if he didn't show up at school in time. They just had to. Right?

During the night, Harry couldn't sleep because of the nightmares. During the day, he couldn't relax because of the memories. He paced around the room so many times, he was astounded every time he made another round and the floor didn't cave in.

It was a good thing they hadn't locked him in the cupboard. The extra room to move and possibility to stare out the window, as well as having Hedwig close, were the only things keeping him sane. Without them, he might not have remembered who he really was. Nor would the Weasleys have been able to save him.

~*~ HP ~*~

The summer after his second year had started out only slightly better than the last. His family was just as bad and his life seemed just as dreary as it did for so many years. The letters from his friends were his only comfort for weeks.

The week with Aunt Marge was particularly problematic but he'd almost made it, before he lost it completely. He knew it was stupid, losing control like that. He just couldn't help it. The way Aunt Marge talked about his mother, he just couldn't deal with it. At school, Snape made nasty comments all the time. But the man was a lot more eloquent and would never say anything as cruse as crude as Aunt Marge. Nor did he ever say anything nasty about Harry's mum; Snape only ever mentioned James.

Seeing Aunt Marge blow up had brought a smile to Harry's face that hadn't vanished for quite a time. Even as he stormed out of the house, pulling his trunk behind him, he could not stop his mouth from twitching. After being scared to death by the dog and he was thrown around the knight-bus for a bit, he had a not so satisfying talk with the minister of magic.

Harry didn't like the man, though he wasn't able to put his finger on why. Something about the way he talked, it made Harry feel icky. Even when he said that Harry wouldn't be expelled for the magic he'd done, something felt of. Luckily, the talk was over quickly and Harry had been allowed to spend the rest of the summer on Diagon Alley.

From that point on, Harry's summer had become much better. In fact, it turned into the best summer yet the next day. He'd gone to Gringott's, thinking he might as well go out and buy his stuff now. However, when he asked access to his family vault, the goblin told him he would not gain access until he was seventeen. Apparently, the mountain of gold in Harry's vault was only a small part of his inheritance.

Grinning happily, he'd gone to the trust vault and asked the goblin if he could divide it into six even piles. He just grunted but did as Harry asked without any other complaints. Harry didn't ask how much there was in each pile, they looked even enough to Harry. Staring with the left pile, he counted out 200 galleons and put them in his pouch. He probably didn't need that much money but it wasn't even a quarter of the money in the first pile.

Walking through Daigon Alley, it took all his willpower not to run into the Quidditch shop and order that new broom. But that wouldn't make sense, he had money true, but he also had an amazing Nimbus 2000. The Firebolt was new and beautiful but there were other things to spend his money on. Besides buying everything he needed for school, Harry had bought himself some new clothes as well as enough books to make Hermione happy.

Staying at the Leakey Cauldron for the summer didn't just mean he had more freedom than ever before. It also mean that the ministry wouldn't be able to tell if he used magic. After all, they hadn't been able to tell the difference between his own magic and Dobby's. And this place was crawling with witches and wizards. As long as he made sure nobody saw, they would never find out.

So, Harry had included the spell-books for the next two years as well as a few other books that looked interesting, and started practising. He had tried the charms for the next three years in three days after buying the books. He managed about half of the spells in only a few tries and left the others for another date.

He read the transfiguration text but decided against trying any of those spells. He didn't want to risk transfiguring something and then being unable to undo it. As for Defence Against the Dark Arts, he skimmed through one of the books for five minutes before deciding never to open it again. There was simply nothing important in there.

Most of the days, he sat outside in the sun. Reading one of his books or doing his homework while eating one of Florean's ice-creams. Once in a while people came up to him, but most just stared and stayed away. He'd found it bothersome at first but had gotten used to the regular interruptions within a few days.

On the day he was doing his potions homework, one of those interruptions turned out to be more informative than anything he had read to date. Harry was just re-reading his work when he felt a presence behind him. He'd plastered on a smile almost automatically and turned around. Only to look directly into the snarling face of Hogwarts's Potions Master.

"I see our celebrity has ones again found a way to get special treatment."

Sighing Harry turned back to his parchment and continued revising. Snape sat down on the other side of the small table. Harry just ignore him, he really didn't want to get into a snit with the professor. Those never ended well for Harry. Of course, the professor had different plans.

"Well Potter, what have you got to say for yourself?"

Sighing in annoyance, Harry looked at the man. "All I'm asking for is to be treated as a human being. Is that really so special?"

Instead of answering, Snape took the parchment and started to read. Harry had seen the man's eyes narrow and lips thin at his words, if only he knew what the minute expressions meant. He did know the disgusted expression on the man's face as he read the essay though. As the professor took his time to read Harry's essay, the boy amused himself by guessing where the man was by reading the different expressions he made.

Not much later, Snape put the essay down and glared at Harry. "Buy yourself a copy of _Basic Brewing_ and _Indispensable Ingredients_. The essay lacks basic knowledge on the different techniques, as well as information on the combination of the different ingredients and the dangers."

Harry blinked a few times, he hadn't expected anything useful to come from the professor. The man had never really seemed interested in divulging anything remotely informative. Nodding slowly, Harry took back his parchment and noted the names of the books Snape mentioned. Putting his stuff away, he continued eating his ice-cream, doing his best to ignore Snape.

"Why do you insist on putting yourself in danger? You must not value your life if you'd be willing to give it up for a mediocre dessert." Snape sneered at him.

Rolling his eyes, Harry put down the spoon and glared back. "How am I putting my life in danger?"

"There is a mass murderer on the loose, Potter."

"So what? There are mass murderers on the loose every day. What makes this one so special? It's not like he can be worse than Voldemort."

Snape sucked in a breath and hissed "Sirius Black is directly responsible for the death of your family. You should have a care Potter, he might just come after you." With that, the professor stood and walked away, black cape billowing behind him.

Harry stared at the now empty chair for a long time. Doing his best to cope with this new revelation. Why was it that everybody had it out for him? Sighing deeply, he picked up his bag and returned to the Leakey Cauldron, leaving the potions book to be bought another day.

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	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The summer after third year was one of those summers that started out bad but ended up being mostly bearable. At the start, Uncle Vernon had still been pissed because of the accident with Aunt Marge the year before. For the first week of Harry's summer vacation, his uncle had taken his anger out on him on a mostly daily bases. He locked Harry in his room as soon as they got home, but came back an hour later to yell at Harry. For some reason Harry's room wasn't locked again but it might as well have been.

After the warning two years ago, and their run-in with the ministry officials last year, none of them were really afraid of magic anymore. Or, to be more precise, they weren't afraid of Harry preforming any magic. Which meant that leaving the room was equivalent to being yelled at and pushed around, or summarily ignored if he wasn't close enough for the earlier options. Staying in his room voluntarily seemed the better option.

That was until a little over a week after Harry had returned to Privet Drive. Dudley had been out all day, probably tormenting the children in the neighbourhood as per usual, when he returned home in a snit. Harry hadn't seen him come home and thus, had no idea why Dudley was mad. He didn't really care though, Harry's cousin got mad over the silliest thing and Harry assumed one of his victims must have been able to escape.

During dinner that evening, Dudley told his mum that he thought they should eat dog meat. Aunt Petunia had sputtered in protest but only until Dudley told her why. Apparently, he had been followed by some mutt all day long. Dudley, being the whale that he was, had tried to discourage the dog from following him but had not been successful. Instead of leaving, the dog had grabbed onto his leg and wrestled with it until Dudley stopped trying to kick him. To add insult to injury, the dog had followed and jumped on him every time Dudley and his friends found another victim for their little games.

Harry had thought it absolutely hilarious that Dudley had been kept from bullying by a dog. After everything he'd gone through with Ripper, it seemed like a good start to getting back at Dudley. Except that Dudley said the dog had intervened when they were teasing a little girl from down the street. When Dudley said teasing, what he meant was that he'd been calling the girl mean names. If he had attacked the child, Harry could understand why the dog would intervene. But Dudley hadn't said anything about roughhousing, as he called it, only teasing. How could a stray dog now that they hadn't just been having fun.

It was that thought that had Harry going outside to check if the dog was still there. He hadn't really thought anything weird was going on but figured it couldn't hurt to check things out. He'd never expected to see the big black dog sitting on the driveway. Waving to the dog to stay silent and get his ass inside the house, Harry followed and tiptoed back to Dudley's second room.

Ones inside, Harry closed the door and glared at his godfather. Who jumped on Harry's bed and turned onto his human form with a grin. "Hi squirt, how are you doing?"

Harry shook his head in exasperation but went to hug Sirius before he admonished him for his idiocy. It wasn't that he wasn't glad to see his godfather, it was just that he couldn't even think of what would happen if his aunt or uncle found a wanted criminal in their home.

Sirius however did not seem to be overly concerned. Instead of answering any of Harry's questions, Sirius started rummaging through Harry's trunk. Taking out the invisibility cloak, he grinned at it and sat down on the floor. With one last glance at Harry, he told him to go to sleep and disappeared underneath the cloak.

Harry tried to talk to his godfather for a while but after being ignored for over an hour, he gave up and laid down on his bed. It took longer than normal to fall asleep, having somebody you couldn't see in the room would do that, but he managed to have a decent night eventually.

The next morning, Harry woke up feeling anxious. His aunt was yelling at him to get up and make breakfast. Sitting up, he was slightly shaken seeing Sirius sitting next to the bed in his dog form. He was looking at Harry with his head cocked, eyes looking rather worried. Sighing, Harry threw the cloak over the dog and told him to stay hidden. Dressing as quickly as he could, he went downstairs to cook breakfast.

Not much later, Harry was sitting down to eat breakfast as he listened to his aunt trying to get Dudley to talk to her. Uncle Vernon was reading the paper and drinking his coffee, while glaring at Harry every so often. Everything seemed to point to another normal and quiet day. But then there was a noise from upstairs, a door opening, and everything changed.

Harry heard his godfather coming down the stairs, the nails of his paws scratching the carpet. Holding his breath, he waited for his uncle to notice. It didn't take long, and the result wasn't pleasant. Uncle Vernon got up and stormed to the hall, where he started to yell vulgar insults almost immediately.

Aunt Petunia and Dudley had gotten up to see what was going on while Harry was still frozen on his chair. Shaking himself out of it, he followed and was just in time to see the dog shift and Sirius appear. In comparison with Uncle Vernon, Harry's godfather looked skinny and extremely scruffy, hardly a treat. But Sirius had been all over the news last year and being on the run had not helped him look any less creepy.

All three of the Dursleys sucked in a shocked breath and stumbled backwards in fright. Aunt Petunia didn't move as fast as the other two, causing Dudley to bump into his mother and fall backwards. Which led to Harry's aunt being pushed down to the floor, putting her in a prime position to become a stumbling block for Uncle Vernon. Harry's uncle waved his arms a few times, trying to remain standing, but was soon overpower by the laws of gravity.

As they were laying there, scrambling to get up and cursing harry, Sirius as well as each other, Harry burst out laughing. The sight was simply too funny. Even knowing the consequences he would later face, he couldn't stop himself.

When they finally got up, Vernon went to stand in front of his wife and son and glared at Sirius. Strangely enough though, he didn't bellow at him.

Sirius ignored the three as he walked into the kitchen and sat down in Vernon's spot. Harry was still chuckling softly as his sat back down and continued eating. Inwardly, he was squirming at the punishment that was sure to follow this little episode. Sirius didn't seem to notice his turmoil though. He happily munched away at Uncle Vernon's eggs and bacon before he asked, with a rather mischievous smile on his face "What is there to do for fun in this place?"

Uncle Vernon started sputtering but didn't seem capable of uttering any real words. Dudley however, had scrambled just enough courage together to ask "Are y..you g..go..going t..t..to k..kill us?"

Sirius gave him a gimlet stare, one that made Dudley shrink into himself. "Maybe. Are you going to touch my godson ever again?"

Aunt Petunia looked from Sirius to Harry a few times, then asked "G..godson?"

"Yes, godson. Now, answer the question. Are any of you planning to put your hands on him again?"

Aunt Petunia and Dudley shook their heads quickly, but Uncle Vernon just grumbled something neither of the wizard heard, or wanted to hear. Sirius glared at him, which made Vernon wither and follow his wife and son's example.

Sirius nodded in satisfaction and turned back to Harry with a beatific smile "So, what are we going to do today?"

Blinking a few times, Harry shook his head "You can't stay here. You have to go back into hiding. Imagine what would happen if they find you."

"Harry, please. I'm not going to run around looking like this, I'm not stupid. I just thought you might like to hang out for a day. You know, we could go to the park or something. I'll even play fetch with you if you want.." Harry was sure Sirius would have been wagging his tail if he'd been in dog form at that moment. He looked so excited at the idea of spending a day with Harry.

If Harry was being truthful, he was rather excited at the prospect as well. So, even though he was still doubting the safety of the idea, Harry nodded in agreement. "Fine, we'll go to the park. But after dinner, you have to go back into hiding and stay there."

Vernon tried to protest the dinner invitation while Petunia did her best to remember Harry of the hours of chores waiting for him. One look from Sirius, shut both of them up quite effectively.

After Harry had cleared the table, while Sirius told him to leave it for his relatives to clean up, his godfather turned into the grim-like dog and they left the house. As there was no park anywhere near Privet Drive, they went to the playground around the block. They stayed there for several hours as Sirius bounced around making Harry laugh.

Harry had never really considered dog being fun, after Ripper he'd learned to stay away from them, but playing with Snuffels, as Sirius had told him to call him outside of the house, was the most fun he'd ever had while staying with the Dursleys. It was almost as relaxing as flying on a broom.

As they did not possess anything to play fetch with, Sirius ran around the playground and jumped on and of the different structures. Harry had a good laugh as Sirius tried to use the swing but kept falling back on his butt.

They played a few games of tag, until Harry climbed up a tree and made it impossible for Sirius to catch him. The game of hide and seek ended after only a few minutes, as playing against Sirius' nose turned out to be no fun at all.

As the sun began to go down, Harry was sitting on the swing while Snuffels was laying in the sand in front of him. He'd been talking to his godfather for almost an hour now and was starting to come up empty on subjects. It wasn't that there wasn't anything to talk about, it was just that Harry really wanted Sirius to be able to answer.

Sirius chased Harry back home and they arrived just before the streetlamps were lit. He'd half expected the Dursleys to have locked him out and was pleasantly surprised when the front door opened with ease. The Dursleys had already eaten and had thrown the left overs away, most likely out of spite. So Harry made sandwiches for the two of them and went upstairs to eat in peace.

Sirius stayed only for an hour longer but promised Harry to keep in touch, and made Harry promise to do the same. Sirius had given the Dursleys one last warning to treat Harry better or else before they had said a teary goodbye -well Sirius was teary, Harry hadn't cried since he was a child- and Snuffels had ran out the door and down the street.

The rest of Harry's time at the Dursleys was about the same as it had been at the start of last summer. Harry did his chores without complaining and in return, he got at least one decent meal a day and was left alone most of the time.

There had been a small squabble when the letter from the Weasleys had arrived, but it hadn't let to anything more than a bit of bellowing from uncle Vernon and screeching from aunt Petunia. Harry was just glad Sirius' visit turned out to have a positive effect on the Dursleys, even if it was only temporary.

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	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The summer of Harry's fifteenth birthday was the summer everything changed, again. Well technically, with Voldemort returning after the third task, everything had changed just before the summer. But more was going to change besides the start of a war. For the summer after his fourth year was the summer that Harry would not, under any circumstances, stay at Privet Drive 4.

The headmaster had told him on several occasions that Privet Drive was the only safe place for him, but Harry wasn't buying it. Not anymore. Not after the amount of danger that surrounded him during every single school year. During his first few years, Harry had thought that the dangers of the school had been a valid reason for not allowing him to remain during the summer. After all, Hogwarts was mostly empty during the summer. The risk that he got into trouble and nobody realize was a lot higher.

But this year things had changed. This year, they had made him participate in the Tri-Wizard tournament against his will. They had put him in danger over and over again. He had been kidnapped and a friend had been killed right in front of him. And it was all their fault. If only they had stopped him from participating, Voldemort would have found a different way to kidnap him and Cedric would still be alive.

And so, Harry had decided that, if they allowed him to come to Hogwarts where he was obviously a constant danger to himself as well as others, there was really no reason to return to Surrey for the summer. After all, he was in danger ten months of the year. Those two months with the Dursleys, while safely hidden away from the magical world, were not nearly as safe as everyone believe them to be.

Harry wasn't all together certain that the threat of Sirius was still bad enough to warrant decent behaviour from his relatives. He just couldn't deal with their attitude, not this year. He had enough on his mind already. With Voldemort back, he couldn't be locked away from the magical world, or run the risk of his wand being taken away for two whole months. Harry knew it was entirely possible that staying in Surrey for the summer wouldn't be that bad. It hadn't been last year. But it didn't really matter. There were enough reasons to remain at Hogwarts and too few to return the Privet Drive.

It was for that reason that Harry had decided to accidentally miss the train. When Harry was walking towards the carriages with his friends, he pretended he had forgotten something and told them to go on without him. Hermione had protested a bit, saying that he would miss the train if he returned now. Which Harry deflected by reminding her that he would be there in time if he used one of the secret passageways. She'd then scolded him for not packing his stuff earlier, so he would have had time to check if he had everything, but let him go when Ron pulled her arm and told her they would all be going through the passageway if they didn't leave now.

His friends left and Harry ran up the staircase, towards Gryffindor tower. He hadn't actually left anything behind, he just needed to pass some time. Walking around the common room, he looked around idly. The place had never looked so empty. He sighed and went up to the dorms, just to see if anyone had left something behind. When he had concluded that nobody had left so much as a stray hair, he decided it was time to leave. Instead of going down towards the entrance, Harry went left towards the statue of Gregory the Smarmy.

He'd intended to stay in the tower long enough to miss the carriages but had rethought that idea. If one of the teachers saw him, they might decide to get him to the station on time. Harry couldn't risk that. So instead, he followed the secret passage all the way towards the end. Moving aside the heavy boulder that was blocking the way, Harry glanced around carefully. The passage ended in the middle of a field, a little way of in the distance he could see the train-station. Climbing out of the hole, he moved the boulder, which was more of a stone slab that an actual boulder, back in place.

Harry could see the steam rising up from the train and knew he had to be careful. If he walked to fast, he would arrive before the train left. If he walked too slowly, someone could see him and keep the train there for an extra minute. He should have kept his invisibility cloak with him, but that would have been too dangerous. Ron and Hermione would have known something was up and his plan would have gone to hell. No, this was the only way.

Harry was careful to stay low, trying to hide himself amongst the high grass, for ones actually wishing that he was smaller instead of bigger. When he was about halfway through, he heard the train leave the station. Standing straight, he saw the train moving away and grinned. He went through the rest of the field as fast as he could and started running as soon as he hit the road. Trying to make it look as if he was trying to catch the train.

He was, of course, much too late. The station was completely empty. He had run for nothing. Nobody would have noticed had he arrived as though nothing was wrong. Plopping down on one of the wooden benches, he tried to catch his breath. Now he had to think of what he was going to do. He couldn't return to Hogwarts, not unless he wanted to be returned to Privet Drive. He couldn't go to the town, not unless he wanted somebody to recognize him and take him back to Hogwarts, which would then lead to being taken back to the Dursleys. No, he had to think of another plan.

Grumbling at himself for not thinking this through, Harry laid down on the bench. The best thing Harry could think of, was hiding somewhere inside the school. It should be possible. The place was huge and many of the Professors left for the holidays. Taking the map out of his pocket, Harry glanced at it. Most of the teachers seemed to be walking around their offices. Dumbledore was pacing in his tower, McGonagall was moving around her office in an erratic pattern and Sprout was in her greenhouses. Closing the map, he put it back in his pocket and tried to get comfortable on the bench.

For now, he would just stay here. The train wouldn't return for at least another day so there would be nobody coming into the station. Hopefully, tomorrow the castle would be a bit emptier so that Harry could find a way to sneak inside and hide. Closing his eyes, he tried to get some sleep.

Several hours later, Harry shot upright breathing harshly. Looking around, he wondered what had woken him. He hadn't even got to the part where Voldemort came out of the cauldron, usually he didn't wake up until the very end. When he didn't see anyone or anything, he lay back on the bench and tried to get comfortable again. That was, until he was startled by somebody clearing his throat and tumbled of the bench. Looking up, he was staring at the menacing form of Snape.

"Why is it, Mr. Potter, that when something is wrong, you are always involved?" Snape sneered and grabbed Harry's arm, pulling him up.

Harry struggled a moment but found his feet quickly and pulled his arm away from Snape. "How would I know? I don't even know what's wrong this time."

Snape looked at him in astonishment and sneered "You don't know what's wrong?" He came a step closer, making Harry back off a step. "How about I take you to the Dark Lord, see if you understand what's wrong then."

Harry's eyes widened. He wouldn't really do that would he? Dumbledore had said that he trusted Snape. The git couldn't actually be planning to take him to that.. that creature.

Snape rolled his eyes and grabbed Harry by the arm once again. Without speaking, he started off towards the exit and dragged Harry with him.

Harry didn't struggle. It would be useless anyway. He'd been dragged off by Snape on enough occasions to know that there was no getting away. And so, Harry reluctantly followed the professor all the way up to the castle. At one point, Harry asked what was going to happen to him now but Snape never answered. When they finally got to the castle, Snape pulled him along to the headmaster's office. Walking inside without knocking, he pushed Harry into a chair and glared at him "Wait here."

Snape turned to leave but the office door opened again. Harry couldn't see who it was but heard the headmaster ask "Severus, is something wrong?"

Snape stepped to the side and pointed towards Harry "The brat missed the train."

Dumbledore walked around his desk and sat down, never really looking Harry in the eyes "Is that so, Harry?"

Harry didn't think he could lie to the headmaster, the man always seemed to know. So, in lieu of actually answering, he nodded.

"Speak up, Potter." Snape snapped from somewhere behind Harry.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Harry glanced at Dumbledore "Yes, sir. That's right."

Dumbledore sat back, looking slightly disappointed "Harry, my boy. You know you have to return, you can't stay here."

Harry scowled "Why not?"

"Because we need to reinforce the wards. You have to go home for a few months to ensure they stay strong."

"Why? Why do the wards have to be reinforced if I'm here at Hogwarts all the time?"

"Because they keep you and your family safe, Harry. You know this. You don't want your family in danger do you?"

Harry closed his eyes, on the brink of giving in. He didn't want his family in danger, he didn't want anyone in danger, especially not because of him. He shook his head, ignoring the impulse. "I don't care."

"Harry–" The headmaster began, but Harry wasn't listening.

Standing, Harry glared at the headmaster "You can send them a warning, tell them to move, do whatever you were planning to do when I turn seventeen. I don't care, I'm not going back there." Shaking his head, he started pacing in front of the desk. He wasn't going back, no matter what the headmaster said.

Dumbledore sighed "I'm sorry Harry, but you have no choice."

Harry snorted "I have a choice, I've always had a choice. I'm making it."

"And what choice is that?" Snape sneered from near the door. Harry had forgotten he was there and spun around, slightly startled.

"I choose not to return to those incapable, incompetent, infantile, excuses of human beings I am forced to call my family." Harry snarled, without really thinking of what he was saying.

"Ungrateful brat." Snape sneered.

Harry's spine went ridged as he glared at the Potions Master. Still slightly unbalanced due to the events in the graveyard, Harry's control snapped. "Ungrateful?" He sneered right back at the dour man "If anyone is ungrateful it's you. You've had fifteen years of relative peace. Fifteen years of peace you gained because _my_ parents were murdered. I have lived my life surrounded by people who hate me while all of you have been basking in a world without Voldemort."

Harry turned to Dumbledore and glared at him "I lost everyone and everything that mattered to me and what do you do? You banish me to live with muggles who despise the air I breathe. You cut me off from everything I ever knew and went on to live your happy little lives."

He started pacing again, glaring daggers at the floor in front of him. "And when I finally find out the truth, when somebody finally shows up to tell me that I'm not just a worthless freak, you do it only because you need me. From the moment I showed up here, I've been in danger. Every single year I have to take care of something that I'm way to young for, because you people seemed to be completely incapable of doing anything."

Harry glared at Dumbledore again "Voldemort has been in this castle twice, there were Dementors and suspected murderers running around, there were actual murderers around." Breathing deeply he glared from Dumbledore to Snape "Hell, this room is filled with murderers. Tell me, which one of you made your first kill at eleven years old?"

Dumbledore blanched while Snape opened his mouth to say something. Harry held up his hand and shook his head "Yeah that was me. And it happened in this castle, where I am supposedly safe. I spend most of my time here. This is my home. If you have no problem with having me here when there are hundreds of people around that might kill me, you should be perfectly fine with me staying when there are no threats lurking around every corner."

Snape scoffed "I doubt any of the students want you dead. You are not that interesting Potter."

"And yet, every year someone shows up to try. It's pure luck that none of the students have tried. Though, I doubt that will take much longer. Now that Voldemort is back, I suspect it won't be long before Malfoy tries something to impress his new master." He glowered at Snape. "And it's about time you get over your petty little grudge. I am not spoiled, nor arrogant, and I have never enjoyed the attention I get. I doubt you were paying attention a minute ago, but my parents got killed. That's what I'm famous for. Losing the only people that ever gave a shit about me for something besides saving their asses. And you, you have no right to judge me because you are jealous of a dead man."

Snape's face twitched dangerously. Harry took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Sitting back in the chair, he glared at the desk.

"Harry.." Dumbledore said softly, sounding almost comforting "Harry, I'm sorry for what happened to you. I really am. But you can't stay here. You are right, you have always been in danger here. But you have to come to school, you have to learn. There is no reason to put yourself in danger when it is not necessary."

Harry sighed and shook his head "Voldemort is back. I will not be cut off again. Not when there is a madman trying to kill me. I will not stay there any longer and you can't make me."

Dumbledore let out a tired sigh. "Please Harry, don't make things more difficult than they already are."

Harry glared at Dumbledore "I'm not, you are. You have been from the start. Either tell me what you want from me, or leave me alone."

Snape gave him a slap to the back of his head "Show some respect Potter."

Harry had already jumped up and was pointing his wand at Snape before the man ended the sentence. Snape just stared at him and raised an eyebrow. Harry calmed almost instantly and lowered his wand. Snape hadn't actually hurt him, and Harry had been extremely rude ever since he'd entered the office. But it was the only way. If he started being nice, he would give in and he would have to spend another summer in hell. He just couldn't do it.

Inhaling a deep breath, he looked directly at Snape "I'm sorry sir. That was a reflex." Turning to Dumbledore he said "I can't return there. I don't know what you are keeping from me, and it doesn't really matter. I have a maniac after me and no matter what you say, there is no safe place for me. I will not lower my chances by being locked away, again."

"You are safe at Privet Drive."

Harry scoffed "No, I'm not. No matter how often you say that, you will never convince me professor. I won't stay there and nobody can make me."

"You will do as you're told." Snape sneered from behind him.

Harry shook his head "Not unless I'm given a very good reason."

"Isn't your safety good enough for you Potter?"

"No, it's not."

"You're parents gave their lives for your safety and you want to squander it. If that's not grateful."

"My parents gave their lives to I could live." Harry spat back "I'm not living, I'm just surviving."

"What do you think life is if not surviving." Snape gave him a disgusted look that Harry ignored.

"Being happy, having friends." Harry smirked at the professor "Doing all those things that keep one from becoming a bitter, old bat."

"Harry.." Dumbledore admonished.

Harry sighed and looked down at his lap. He shouldn't have said that, even if it was the truth.

"How about you go back for a few weeks and then you can join the Weasley's?" Dumbledore asked, sounding as if he was really trying to make Harry happy.

Harry ignored the headmaster's tone and shook his head. "No. If you send me back there, I will leave as soon as you do."

Snape snorted "You thought there wouldn't be somebody watching you every second of every day this summer?"

Harry eyes widened and looked from Dumbledore to Snape and back again "There will be someone watching me the whole summer and I still have to stay with the Dursleys? That's just plain cruel."

Dumbledore glanced at Snape then went back to staring past Harry's head as he said "I'm sorry Harry. But we have no choice, you are in too much danger now that Voldemort has returned."

Harry sighed "You would think I have proven that I can take care of myself by now."

"The only thing you proved is that you can get yourself in trouble." Snape sneered.

"And yet, you think you can keep me safe by dropping me of somewhere I do not want to be. Do you not see the disaster brewing?" Harry looked at the professor with raised eyebrows.

Snape frowned, than looked at the headmaster "The brat has a point. Unless you plan to lock him up and throw away the key, he's going to get into something dangerous."

Harry nodded, for once in his life actually agreeing with Snape. Well, mostly. "Locking me up didn't work the last time."

Snape frowned at him but didn't comment. Instead he looked at Dumbledore and asked "Can he not go to headquarters?"

Dumbledore shook his head "No, not yet. Harry must return to the Dursleys, there is no other option."

"Unless you hide somebody away inside the house to babysit me 24/7, I will find a way to leave." Harry said, not really believing they would actually do that.

That was, until Dumbledore clapped his hands and smiled at Harry "That's a wonderful idea Harry. I am sure your room is large enough for an extra resident, is it not?"

Harry did a fairly decent imitation of a fish. The headmaster had to be insane. He couldn't hide a grown witch of wizard in his room. And there was no way the Dursleys would allow one of _them_ living in their house.

Dumbledore pursed his lips and glanced at Snape, who instantly said "No."

Harry would have laughed at the instant response, had he not known that Snape said no only because it was Harry they were talking about. No matter how much he hated the man, it still felt crappy every time Snape treated him unfairly. Even if it was to Harry's advantage this time.

"Severus please. I don't have anyone who can disillusion themselves on such short notice. It will just be for a few days."

Snape glared at Dumbledore "What if I get called away? What then?"

"If that happens, I'm sure Harry won't take advantage of it."

Snape scoffed but Harry thought about it for a moment. Considering his options. If someone was going to stay inside the house, they would witness how he was being treated. It wasn't something Harry had ever wanted being witnessed, but maybe it could be to his advantage. Surely, if Sirius knew how he was being treated, he would put an end to it. He doubted that the headmaster would allow Sirius to guard him but maybe there was another way. "Can't Remus do it?"

"I'm sorry Harry, he's not available at the moment."

"For how long?"

"He should be back by the end of the week."

Harry glanced at Snape, who was glaring at the both of them. Harry smirked at the professor. The man was not going to like this. "Fine, then I'll promise not to leave if Snape is called. But only if you promise that Remus will be my next guard."

Snape was shaking his head in denial but Dumbledore smiled "You've got yourself a deal Harry." Looking at Snape he asked "Should I send a message to the Dursley household that Harry will be arriving tomorrow or can you be ready to leave tonight?"

"I'll take the brat tomorrow. I'd like at least one night of peace and quiet."

Dumbledore nodded "All right then. Harry, you can, as the muggle say, crash on professor Snape's couch for tonight."

Harry groaned. This was so not what he had wanted. He'd wanted to stay at Hogwarts, but not with Snape and not for just one night. And now he didn't just have to return to the Dursleys, Snape would be going with him. And Harry wouldn't even get the joy of his aunt and uncle freaking out because of it.

Harry was considering the worst possible outcome of the situation. Snape was going to see how he was treated. Knowing how much the man enjoyed tormenting Harry over his so called perfect life, he could only imagine how much fun the man would have with the reality. Somewhere, there was a small voice telling him that Snape wouldn't be that cruel, but Harry couldn't quite believe that.

"Unless you want to sleep in the hallway, you better move." Snape snarled, effectively pulling Harry out of his thoughts.

Stepping through the portrait, Harry looked around. He was in a small hallway with three doors with no handles. Snape stepped around him and pulled on the torch that was hanging to the right of the middle door. Harry couldn't help but giggle. Only Snape would have doors that were opened by tilting a torch, it was so cliché.

The living room was a bit of a surprise though. The room was large and airy, though there were no windows. The carpet as wells as the walls were a light blue. One wall was lined with three large bookcases, each made of ebony wood. In the middle of a room stood two armchairs made of the same dark wood as well as a large comfy looking sofa with thick blue pillows.

Snape told him to sit down and to keep his hands to himself, then left the room through another door. Harry sat down and tried to read the titles of the books, but was unsuccessful. Sighing, he leaned back and tried to get relax. It wasn't exactly working. No matter how comfortable the sofa was, knowing Snape was skulking around stopped him.

A few minutes later, Snape returned to the room and threw Harry a blanket. After glaring at him for a bit Snape told him they were going to leave at 8 am in the morning and that he should get some sleep. Motioning for harry to follow him, he showed Harry how to get to the bathroom and handed him a new toothbrush and some toothpaste he could use.

Harry brushed his teeth and washed his face, pretending Snape wasn't leaning against the doorpost, watching him with narrowed eyes. Harry was just glad he didn't need to use the toilet at the moment. He had a feeling Snape was inclined to stay for that as well, the man had that look on his face that said _I don't trust you and will never, ever leave you alone in my quarters, ever._

Once Harry was done, Snape led him back to the living room. As Harry took of his shoes and settles on the couch, Snape gave him another warning not to touch anything or enter any other room. Harry just nodded in agreement and waited for Snape to leave. Before he did, Snape waved a hand and the lights dimmed, leaving Harry alone in the dark.

He tried to sleep, really he did. He was on edge, even after Snape had stayed away for several hours. He just couldn't stop thinking of his current situation. How he had gotten himself in this mess? How much worse it was going to get? And what the hell should he do now? There were too many questions, too many uncertainties, and he didn't like it. He'd promised himself that he wasn't going back to the Dursleys, and yet he would do so in only a few hours. Was his gamble going to pay off? Would Remus get him out of there once he saw how Harry was being treated?


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Harry woke up several hours later from the smell of bacon and eggs, even though he was still so tiered he had trouble finding the energy to move. He wasn't surprised at his surroundings, which probably indicated that he hadn't slept deeply enough to get any real rest, but that was no surprise. What did slightly surprise him was that he didn't have a crick in his neck from sleeping on a couch.

He stretched slowly, got up and checked the state of his clothing. He didn't remember taking of his school robe but somehow, it had ended up over the back of the armchair. Shrugging at the fact that his clothes looked like they belonged to a beggar, he left his robe on the chair and followed his nose towards the kitchen.

As he entered, Snape looked up from his morning paper and sneered at him. Harry ignored the man and sat down on the chair furthest away from the imposing man. As soon as he sat, a plate with scrambled eggs, bacon and toast appeared in front of him. Smiling slightly, Harry dug in. The food wasn't anything spectacular, but he didn't care. Considering the fact that he should have been with the Dursleys, cooking breakfast instead of eating it, the meal was as good as Ambrosia.

Once Harry was done eating, the plate vanished and Snape put the paper away. They sat in silent for a moment, Snape glaring at Harry with the kind of hatred the boy had come to expect of adults long before he was old enough to understand it.

Without saying anything, the dour man got up, grabbed a bag and started for the hearth in the living room. Harry followed, wondering how exactly they were going to get to Privet Drive but knowing he wouldn't get an answer if he asked. Snape held out the floo powder and held it out to Harry, clearly reluctant to let the child touch any of his stuff.

Grabbing a hand, he stepped towards the floo and waited for the Potions Master to tell him where they were going. When he was told to go to Mrs. Figg's sitting room, Harry almost dropped the powder on the floor.

Mrs. Figg lived across the street from the Dursleys. If she had her hearth hooked into the Floo-network, she had to be a witch. Harry had been living near a witch his entire life and he hadn't known. What's more, a witch had seen the way he grew up, the way he was treated, and she hadn't done anything.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Harry had always believed that if anybody in the wizarding world knew how badly Harry was treated, they would do something. That he was only still living there because Harry had never dared to speak about the abuse. Hell, Harry had been banking on that when he had agreed to go back to the Dursleys if Dumbledore promised to send Remus as a guard as soon as possible.

Now though, it took all his courage not to drop the floo-powder and make a beeline out of Snape's quarters. Mrs. Figg liked him, Harry was certain of that. There was no way that she would have allowed him to stay in that situation unless she had no choice. Hoping against hope that she'd done nothing simply because she didn't know how bad it was, Harry took a deep breath and threw in the floo-powder.

After several long moments of twisting and turning, Harry stumbled out of the hearth in Mrs. Figg's living room. The house was dark and silent but for the sounds of cats mewing quietly. Harry had barely stepped out of the floo when Snape landed behind him. The man looked around for a moment before walking straight through the kitchen and out of the backdoor.

Once outside, Snape took something out of his pocket and tapped it with his wand. The man threw whatever he was holding on the ground and Harry's trunk appeared. Smiling, Harry grabbed the trunk and started pulling it around the house towards Privet Drive. Before he'd made more than a step, Snape put a hand on his shoulder and stopped him.

Turning around, Harry looked at the dour man, who was doing his best to freeze the boy with his glare.

"As the headmaster was called away earlier this morning, I will be the one to deliver you to your doorstep. After thirty minutes, you will think of some excuse to go outside for a while. I will be waiting for you by the backdoor. I want you to vow that you will not, under any circumstances, leave me out there to wait for no good reason."

Harry shook his head "Sorry sir, I can't."

"Can't what?" Snape snapped, eyes burning fire.

Straitening his shoulders, Harry tried to match the man's glare. Snape may be his professor during the school year, but it was summer now. Harry had enough to worry during the summer, he was not going to add fearing professor Snape to that list. "I can't promise any of that."

"Why not?"

Harry shrugged "Just thrust me. It will be much easier if you turned invisible now and follow me."

"And let your family think we allow our students to just run around freely, I think not."

Sighing, Harry shook his head. "I have been running free, as you so eloquently call it, since the day I was dropped on their porch." Grabbing the handle of his trunk again, Harry threw one more glare at his professor. "You are here to make sure I don't run away. If you want to succeed, you will have to follow my lead. You can either be invisible and quiet or you can stay here, I really don't care." With that, he turned around and walked away.

Harry didn't look back to see what the professor had decided. What he'd said was mostly the truth. He didn't really care whether the professor came inside or was forced to wait outside. What he did care about was that the man listened to him. They weren't at school anymore. They were going to Harry's home and no matter how much Snape believed himself to be perfect, the man didn't know the rules of Harry's home. He would know soon enough though.

As Harry was walking up the driveway towards the Dursley's front door, he wondered if he'd be able to hide how he was treated. He really hoped he could, at least long enough for Snape to leave and Remus to appear. He did not want Snape to know. All his hope of a few days of peace was lost when his uncle opened the door before Harry had rung the bell.

The man glared at Harry and grabbed him by his arm "There you are boy. You thought you could run away didn't you? Thought that you could make us look like fools, standing at king cross, waiting for someone who never showed up."

Harry sighed and hung his head, resigned to whatever punishment his uncle had thought up. Instead of shaking him, or even throwing him back in the cupboard, Uncle Vernon pointed towards the stairs and told him to stay there until he was told otherwise.

Harry didn't say anything, just grabbed his trunk ones more and started lugging it up the staircase. When Harry couldn't get it up more than two steps, Uncle Vernon started towards the trunk and made to grab it. Afraid he was going to lock his trunk away again, Harry pulled harder, doing his best to get the trunk away from his uncle. Not counting on the trunk becoming lighter, Harry flew backwards and fell on his bum. His trunk flew over his head and landed on the top, right in front of Harry's door, with a loud BANG.

Harry saw his uncle's face turn red and scrambled up the rest of the stairs as quickly as he could. Holding the door open just long enough to give Snape a chance to move through, Harry pushed the trunk into his room. The door slammed behind him and he heard the clicks of the locks almost immediately. He sighed and slid down the door to sit on the ground. He was locked in again.

"Well, at least your family knows when you need to be punished." Snape sneered from somewhere near the windows.

Harry glared in his general direction but didn't say anything. It wouldn't matter anyway. Like his family, Snape had the uncanny ability to find a reason, any reason, to punish Harry at any given time. So instead of wasting his time with his professor, Harry opened his trunk and took out his school books.

Removing the two loose floorboards, he put his cloak and map into one compartment and several of his books in the other. Normally, Harry kept his potions book under is cushion so he had something to read up on during the long evenings he spend up there. With the professor so close though, he decided to keep DADA with him instead of potions. If he kept the potions book, Snape would probably think he was sucking up and give him a detention for it.

Settling on his bed, Harry started reading the Defence text right away. Defence against the dark arts had been absolutely amazing the past year, but it had been given by a death eater. Harry had already decided that Moody's real identity didn't take anything away from the lessons, it just meant he would have to check everything he learned.

Harry spend the rest of the day locked away in his room, but as long as he had his books, he really didn't mind. Working in the garden would keep his mind occupied and away from the events in the graveyard, but it would also tier him to the extent of passing out. That was not something he could do, not with Snape there.

That evening, Harry was called to cook dinner and send back upstairs as soon as he was done serving his family. He didn't mind. He had expected it. What he hadn't expected was the outrage he heard in Snape's voice when he asked "Where is your dinner?"

Harry shrugged and removed one of the loose floorboard. Taking out a few of the cauldron cakes he had hidden with his cloak, and held one out in Snape's general direction. "I know it's not as good as the meals at Hogwarts but it stops your stomach from hurting."

To his surprise, Snape accepted and the small cake seemingly hovered away. Harry ate is own cake while eying the way Snape's cake appeared to be disappearing bite by bite. When he was done, Harry grabbed one of his books and plopped down on his bed.

He was woken by somebody shaking his shoulder several hours later. Sitting up, he took in a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He'd had that nightmare again, the one that started with his parents death and ran through all his other confrontations with Voldemort. Frowning, he wondered what had woken him. Normally, he only woke up ones the graveyard scene had played out or somebody woke him up. Looking around he saw nobody in his room, and he didn't hear his uncle yelling either.

Rubbing his eyes, Harry blinked as he realized he'd never even taken off his glasses. Nor had he put his book on the desk. All of a sudden, he remembered the last two days. He'd missed the train but Snape had found him before he'd been able to hide. They'd made him go back. Groaning, Harry flopped back down and threw an arm over his face. Not only had Snape seen how Harry's family treated him, now he'd also seen the kind of nightmares he had. Worse, the man had actually felt the need to wake him up. Harry could only assume he'd been screaming, as he doubted Snape would care if he'd simply looked uncomfortable.

Harry lay there for the rest of the night. Never saying anything to the man who was still hidden somewhere in the room. Snape never said anything either but Harry was fairly certain the man was awake. Not even Snape would be able to be completely quiet while sleeping, no matter how silent he was when awake.

Shortly after the sun had risen, the locks on Harry's door clicked and his aunt yelled for him to get up and make breakfast. Harry sighed but got up and put on the ridiculous clothing he was forced to wear during the summer, grumbling under his breath all the while. Leaving, he left the door to his room open. He didn't care if Snape followed him or not, but he doubted it would go over well if Harry shut the door in the man's face.

Harry was able to smuggle a few bites of the scrambled eggs while he was making them and managed to sneak a few pieces of bread. He was ones again denied to have anything to eat but his aunt was gracious enough to hand him a glass of water before she told him to go and clean the kitchen.

Hours later, Harry was outside, working in the garden. He'd felt Snape eyes on him throughout the whole day but had been doing his best to ignore it. He'd been doing an admirable job at it too. That was, until he noticed that some of the weeds were pulling themselves out of the ground. Harry narrowed his eyes and hissed "Stop that."

Snape didn't listen and continued to remove weeds until Harry pushed him to the side. The Gryffindor heard a small oomph coming from next to him and had to work hard not to laugh. It wouldn't just be Snape that would be pissed off if Harry laughed. If his family saw him laughing, no matter what the reason, Harry would be punished, he was sure of it.

As he continued his weeding he heard Snape hiss "Fine, if you want to spend the whole day working, do it yourself." He then muttered something that sounded like 'obnoxious little brat' but Harry couldn't be certain.

Sighing, he picked up the weeds and started pushing them in the trash bag lying next to him. Glancing at the spot Snape had been before he whispered "Thanks for the offer but it's too dangerous." And walked away to get the garden hose.

It was four O'clock when he finally finished his chores and had finished cleaning himself up. He would have about thirty minutes before he needed to start dinner. Flopping down on his bed, Harry closed his eyes and tried to get a quick nap.

He was startled out of the calm that had come over him a moment later as Snape asked "Why is getting help dangerous?"

Harry grimaced and looked over towards the desk. Snape was still disillusioned but Harry was fairly certain the voice had come from that direction. Not to mention that he could feel someone staring at him from the chair. "They can't see you. They'll think I'm using magic."

"A ministry owl would arrive if that were the case. You would think they remembered that from the last time you used unauthorized magic during the summer."

"I have never used magic during the summer." Harry snapped indignantly, he didn't like being accused of things he hadn't done. Then he reconsidered and added "Not intentionally anyway." He did blow up his aunt after all.

"Don't lie Potter. You cast a levitation charm after your first year."

Harry snorted "No I didn't. That was Dobby."

"And why would a house elf do something like that. A house elf that belonged to the Malfoy's no less." Snape sneered

Harry shrugged "He wanted to keep me away from Hogwarts. He was also to blame for keeping my letters from me, closing to portal to the platform and hexing that bludger. All in the name of keeping me safe of course."

"And yet, you tricked Lucius into freeing him."

Harry grinned slightly at the reminder of his trick at the end of his second year. "Yeah well, as a thank you I got him to promise never to try to safe my life again. It was a good deal, all things considering."

Snape let out humphed then said "Yes it was. Positively Slytherin of you."

Harry blinked a few times, opening and closing his mouth like a fish. He had no idea how to take that comment. From anyone else, being called Slytherin would have been an insult, but from Snape.. Clearing his throat in an attempt to sound normal he smiled "Why thank you professor. Just imagine how awesome I would have been had I never met Malfoy." Harry didn't know why he was talking to the man, let alone why he alluded to his sorting, but decided it didn't really matter. He was bored and Snape already knew too much.

As expected, Snape asked "What does Mr. Malfoy have to do with your so called awesomeness?"

Harry couldn't help the giggle that escaped at Snape's use of his words, it just sounded way too funny in the man's languid drawl. "I met him when I went to Diagon Alley. He was a prat but I didn't know that yet. He was the first wizard of my own age I spoke to so I didn't really have a baseline. He mentioned the houses so I asked Hagrid…" Harry paused for a moment, not willing to admit what Hagrid had said about Slytherin. It hadn't exactly been a nice thing to say. Looking back, Harry actually wondered how it was possible for an adult to say something like that. Saying all Slytherins were evil, or all evil wizards were Slytherins, was just as bad as calling Harry a freak because he had magic. Deciding to consider the implications later, he continued with his explanation. "Ron explained the house system to me during the train ride."

A snort interrupted him and Snape sneered "You mean he explained that Slytherin was evil and Gryffindor was good."

Smiling, Harry nodded "That's what it came down to, yes. But you know, I wasn't really convinced of Slytherin being bad at that point. I figured it was simple prejudice. Truth be told, I still think it is…" He paused waiting for Snape to make some sort of scathing retort, but continued when no reply came "Anyway, Draco came by to say hello when we were waiting to enter the great hall. He said something about choosing the right friends. It was obvious that he thought he was a much better choice of friend than Ron. I disagreed, vehemently."

"And this is important why?"

Harry sat up and stared at the seemingly empty chair. He really wanted to see Snape's face when he told him this. Since he couldn't, he wanted to at least be in prime position to hear and observe whatever reaction he was going to get. "Remember how long my sorting took?"

"Yes…" Snape's answer was drawn out. Which made Harry smile grow brighter.

"The hat told me I had the loyalty of a Hufflepuff and the brain of a Ravenclaw…" He paused and thought that over for a bit "Though, I think the hat knew I can't be blindly loyal like the Hufflepuffs, nor am I really inclined to continual studying."

Harry could practically hear Snape's clenched jaws protesting as he snarled. "Get to the point Potter."

"Well… It also said I had the boldness and bravery of a Gryffindor and was a cleaver and sneaky as a Slytherin. But then I told it, not Slytherin, and it sorted me into Gryffindor."

Harry heard Snape suck in a breath through his teeth as well as the slight movement of the chair. He had a feeling Snape was pacing but the man's footsteps were silent as usual. Harry didn't say anything else, just waited for Snape to give some sort of verbal response. When it came, it wasn't exactly what Harry had expected.

"And I suppose you blame Draco for making you against Slytherin?"

Harry snorted "I'm not against Slytherin, just against most of the people currently in it. I don't know if you've noticed but the Slytherins have made it their mission to make my life miserable." Not that they really needed to try, but he wasn't going to say that out loud. "But yes, I asked not to be placed in Slytherin because Malfoy had just been sorted there. I didn't want to be sorted with people that judged others on how much money they have or how much influence their parents hold." He paused again, thinking it over. Pursing his lips, slightly unhappy at the revelation he just had, he added "Though, what the hat said was probably to blame as well."

"How so?" Now Snape sounded downright pissed.

"It told me Slytherin would help me on the way to greatness… You know about my wand and its brother, yes?"

"I heard about it."

Harry sighed and took the wand out of his pocket, twirling it around as he looked it over. "Olivander told me about it, he thought it was curious that I would be chosen by this particular wand." He looked up in the direction of Snape, or at least he thought that was where Snape was "He said that we could expect great things for me. After all, Voldemort had done great things, terrible but great…"

Harry heard a sigh coming from next to him and felt the bed jostle slightly. Snape must have sat down on at the end of the bed. "You were sorted into Gryffindor because you were young, and not nearly informed enough to make a decision like that… You should have been mine."

Harry's jaw dropped. Shaking his head, he sighed "No, I shouldn't have. I saved several lives over the past years, I doubt I could have done that if I'd been in Slytherin."

Snape snorted "Didn't you just say you weren't prejudiced against Slytherins?"

Harry shrugged "I'm not, I'm just being realistic. You may favour your little snakes but I doubt you let them run free. Besides, Slytherin or not, you would still hate me. Which means I would have been under the direct supervision of someone who already believes the worst of me. Not to mention that I would have different friends…"

Harry heard some rustling coming from Snape's vicinity but they were interrupted before the man could say anything else. Half an hour was over and Harry needed to go make dinner.

Cooking dinner took longer than expected and when he was finally done, Uncle Vernon and Dudley were yelling at him to hurry up. Rushing back and forth from the kitchen to the table, Harry wasn't paying attention and ran straight into Snape. Though, paying attention probably wouldn't have helped, since the man was still invisible. But he should have known something like this was going to happen. With his luck, something just had to go wrong. What's more, it had to happen right in front of his uncle.

Harry fell back on his butt like a toddler, the casserole flew out of his hands and landed on top of him, upside down of course. Closing his eyes, he tried to count to ten. He wasn't sure why, probably just so he had some time to decide what to do. He could either start apologizing or burst out laughing. Since he had no idea whether to apologize to Snape or his family, he decided to go with option number two.

He let himself fall back completely, his eyes still closed, and started laughing like a maniac. He thought he heard his uncle yelling at him, but his own laughter was blocking the words from getting to him. Rolling on his side, he tried to catch his breath. It wasn't really working.

Harry wasn't sure how long he laughed, but he was sort of glad when his uncle grabbed his arm and dragged him upright. His stomach was starting to hurt and he needed the shock to stop his hysterical chuckling. The relief didn't last though, as his uncle started shaking him like a rag doll.

Inwardly, Harry sighed. He knew what was coming. His uncle would yell and scream at him, shake him until his shoulder popped out of its socket and probably end of with a week in the cupboard. If he had dropped dinner and apologized, he would have been yelled at and maybe locked in his room for a few days. But Harry had not only dropped dinner, he had done so because he ran into an invisible wall –and his uncle had seen, so he couldn't say he'd tripped. To top it all off, Harry had started laughing instead of apologizing profusely. That was three strikes, which could only lead to the cupboard.

None of that happened though. Well, the bellowing did but Harry could deal with that. But instead of being shaken and thrown in the cupboard. Uncle Vernon pulled back abruptly and a voice colder than iced hissed "Get your grubby paws of that child."

Harry blinked, slightly taken aback by the fact that Snape had actually interfered. Before he could say anything though, his aunt and cousin started screeching at the ghost, while his uncle bellowed for the intruder to show himself.

Snape complied and removed the spell. He was standing between Harry and his family so he couldn't see his professor's expression as he faced the Dursleys, but it was obvious from his stance that he was furious. Glancing around the man, Harry saw Dudley and Aunt Petunia going pale, while his uncle's face went beet red.

Harry expected his uncle to speak first, or maybe Snape, but it was Petunia that finally broke the silence. As she pursed her lips his discussed, she spat "Snape."

Snape glanced at her but didn't acknowledge her any further. Harry on the other hand, wanted to know how his aunt knew one of his professors. Knowing Snape wouldn't answer, he turned to his aunt and risked breaking another rule as he asked "You know him?"

Before she could answer, or more likely tell him not to ask questions, Snape turned to him and told him to go and pack his stuff. Seeing the look on the man's face, he decided not to protest. Though, he did walk as slowly as possible, trying to hear what was said. He could hear Snape's voice but since he couldn't catch was he was saying, Harry rushed up the stairs and packed his trunk.

Because he had been hoping for just this to happen once Remus came to guard him, most of his stuff was still in his trunk. Grabbing the things he had hidden under the floorboard took him only a minute, maybe two. Dragging the trunk down the stairs took only a few seconds, since he really didn't care that his family would be pissed with him letting the trunk slide down on his own. Yet, by the time Harry had followed his trunk down, Snape was already waiting for him. His family was nowhere to be seen.

Snape looked at him for a moment then shook his head, his hair swinging in front of his face. Without saying a word, he grabbed Harry's trunk and led the way outside. Harry wanted to say something, maybe thank the man for interfering, but Snape was pushing him towards the road and apparated them away before Harry had fully realized what was going on.

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	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

They appeared moments later in some alleyway. Harry stumbled and would have hit the pavement had Snape not steadied him. After a moment, Harry looked up at the man, eyes wide "Did we just apparate?"

Snape scoffed "I apparated, you were just along for the ride."

Harry nodded slowly "I still like brooms better."

Rolling his eyes, Snape flicked his wand towards Harry's trunk, shrinking it before putting it in his pocket. "It takes some getting used to but it's the fastest way to travel."

"Yeah well, it's worse than flooing." Harry grouched, doing his best to push down the nauseousness and not sick up.

Snape snorted in silent amusement. "Flooing takes grace, I doubt it will ever get better for you. Apparition on the other hand, just takes practise. Even you can do that."

Harry decided not to comment as he followed Snape out of the alley. As he looked around, he noted that this looked very much like one of the old factory neighbourhoods Harry had read about. By the looks of it, the factories had closed and the people had left. It was dark, and not the normal dark, the kind of creepy gloomy dark that made shivers run down your spine. Harry ran a few steps to catch up to the Potions Master and asked "Where are we?"

Snape looked down at him with narrowed eyes, as if he really wished Harry to shut up. "Spinner's End."

Harry pursed his lips, that was rather useless information. Decided not to ask where that was, considering it would likely lead to another useless answer, he asked "And why are we here?"

"Because you will be safe here."

Giving a pointed glance around him, Harry raised his eyebrows "Doesn't look very safe to me."

They'd reached the front door of the house on the corner and Snape surreptitiously tapped the handle with his wand. Harry glanced from the house to the street, slightly panicked. "Why aren't we at Hogwarts?"

"As you said during that little discussion with the headmaster, you aren't any safer there as you are with your relatives." Snape sneered the last word, obviously agreeing with Harry's thoughts on the designation.

Harry frowned, he hadn't actually said that but he supposed it made the point, especially since Snape's assessment of Harry's home life appeared to have changed. As Snape opened the door and motioned Harry inside, he hesitated. Snape was a death-eater, and Harry had never trusted him. Dumbledore was always adamant that the man was on their spy, but at one point, he had willingly agreed to become what he was. Spy or not, Snape was dangerous. And he had hated Harry for a long time.

Biting his lower lip, he tried to think quickly. He'd never known why Snape held such hatred for him. He'd figured it had something to do with his father, since he was always going on about him. But he didn't really know for sure. What he did know was that the man never said a word about Harry's mother. He'd never noticed it before but Aunt Petunia knew Snape. There had to be some connection. Normally, he would have tried to find out what that connection was by himself, but there was no time. He needed to know if following the man was a good idea, and he had a feeling this would give him a definitive answer. So he asked "How do you know my aunt?"

Snape gave him a murderous glare that almost had Harry stepping back, than he sighed and the mask slip back on. "I'm not going to hand you over to The Dark Lord. Come inside and I _might_ answer some of you questions."

That wasn't really what Harry had hoped for but he did as asked anyway. He just couldn't pass up the chance to get some answers. He'd always liked solving mysteries but the emphasis was always on the solving. He couldn't stand not finding the answer to a question. With Voldemort back, his need for information had only gotten worse while his sources for information got smaller.

The house was rather dim and dusty, and obviously rundown, but it seemed like it would hold up. Snape led him into a small sitting room and told him to sit. Unlike in his office, he didn't warn him not to touch anything. It gave Harry a strong urge to peruse the bookshelves that lined the room on all sides, there had to be something good in there, but he decided against it. It wouldn't do to piss the man of at this stage.

Snape came back a few minutes later, holding two cups. Handing one over to Harry, the man sank down in the armchair and took a few sips of his own tea. Staring at Harry all the while. Following his example, they sat in silence for several long minutes before Snape finally said "Ask your questions."

Harry didn't look up from his cup as he tried to hide a smile, slightly taken aback by the fact that Snape was actually keeping his word. "How do you know my aunt?"

"They lived close by when I was a child."

Harry looked up at the man, eyes wide. "You grew up near my mum?"

When Snape just nodded, he asked "Did you know her well?"

"We were friends."

Harry sat forward so abruptly, only his seeker reflexes stopped him from dropping his cup of tea. "Can you tell me about her?"

Snape closed his eyes for a moment before his shook his head "I take it your aunt never spoke of her?"

"No sir. Nobody does really… I know only the basics about my parents. What they looked like, which classes they preferred, that sort of thing."

"I will tell you some things about your mother another time. There are other things to discuss tonight, do you not agree?"

Harry sighed but nodded, the man had a point. There was a war coming after all. Reminiscing about his mother would be nice but not very productive at this point. Besides, he had waited for years to know more about his mother, he could wait a little longer. Especially know that he knew whom to ask. "What is happening with Voldemort?"

Snape's arm twitched, causing him to spill some tea. Letting out a frustrated growl he put the cup aside and grabbed his wand to clean the mess. Then he glared at Harry and snapped "Don't say his name."

Looking down, Harry mutter "Sorry, sir." Looking up at the still snarling face he asked "Does it hurt you when somebody says it in your company?"

"That's none of your business."

Glancing down again, he was about to apologize when he rethought his action. Shaking his head at himself, he looked up and said. "No, it is not. But if you want me to stop saying his name, I'd like to know why."

Snape sneered at him "You are in my house, you'll do as I say whether I give you a reason or not."

Harry shook his head again. "Yeah, I'm sorry, but that's not going to work. You interfered before my uncle had a chance to do anything really bad. You won't hurt me, not unless I give you a really good reason. Which this isn't."

"There are other ways of punishment Potter."

"Maybe, but there is nothing you can do that would be worse than staying at the Dursleys. The only punishment that would make this a bad summer is taking me back there."

Snape narrowed his eyes "I can make you scrub cauldron for the rest of the summer."

Harry shrugged "Are you going to keep me from eating if I just sit there and not do anything at all?"

Snape just stared at him, not saying anything.

Harry smirked slightly "As long as I don't have to go back to Privet Drive, I have no problem following rules. I will do my punishments if I deserve them. But I will not follow somebody around like a puppy and blindly obey orders as if I'm a sheep. I'm done with that."

"What makes you think I won't just return you?"

"I told you, you stopped my uncle before he could do anything."

"He nearly dislocated you shoulder."

"So?"

Snape pinched the bridge of his nose. "I think I'm starting to see why you lack any respect for rules."

Harry cocked his head, wondering what the man was thinking. "How so?"

"Your family Potter. Their punishments are harsh, on the brink of outright physical abuse, and they do so for no good reason at all. Combine that with the general neglect and emotional abuse and you are left with a complete lack of foundation."

Harry blinked a few times, not certain what exactly the man meant by lack of foundation. In the end, the only thing he could think to say was "I'm not abused."

Snape sighed and shook his head "In many ways, you are. What I've seen and heard, they treat you like a house elf, belittle you at any opportunity, lock you away anytime you're not convenient and encourage others to treat you as badly as possible. Don't pretend it's not true, I saw the encouraging smile that pig gave his son when he hit you with that stick. Just because the adults in the house refrain from outright hitting you does not mean it's an acceptable environment."

Knowing that the man was right, Harry refrained from commenting. Instead he said "This is rather of point though. We were talking about Vol.." Harry paused and shook his head "we were talking about why I wasn't allowed to use his name. If the mark hurts you because of it, I will try to remember that. It's not like I have any intention of hurting you…"

Snape threw him an incredulous look, before he snorted "Your father would have loved something like that to lord over me."

"Well, I'm not my father." Harry snapped, then sighed and looked down. Snape hadn't actually sounded like he was berating him. Harry was just so used to defending himself whenever Snape mentioned his father, he couldn't help it. "Sorry for the tone sir. I don't know what happened between you two. I have a feeling that whatever it is, it's much more complicated than what I have heard. But I'm not my father, or my mother. I never knew them, so how could I be? It's not like arrogance is a hereditary trait."

Snape scoffed "I'm surprised you know what that word means Potter."

Sighing, Harry sat back and drank some more tea. This conversation was going nowhere pretty quickly. "You still haven't answered my question."

"Then maybe you shouldn't harp on about it."

Harry raised his eyebrows at the man "So I should just continue to use Voldem…"

Snape interrupted him with a growled "No."

Smiling, he waited for the man to answer the question. It took longer than expected but in the end. Snape did answer.

"Yes Potter, it burns when the name is spoken."

"I didn't see anyone flinch when I used it in the graveyard, but then I suppose I was rather focussed on Riddle."

"It's not debilitating. It's simply annoying, especially when holding something."

Harry nodded again "I will try to remember to call him Riddle in your presence." Pausing he thought it over for a moment then added "In fact, I think I will use that from now on. It's about time people stopped using that ridiculous moniker."

"I doubt others will follow your example Potter."

"That's not the point."

"Then what is?"

"The headmaster ones told me to call him by his name. That fear of the name instils fear of the person. But Voldy isn't his name, Riddle is…"

"So?"

Harry shrugged, it seemed obvious to him. "Well, he doesn't want to be known as Tom Riddle because it's his father's name. Worst yet, it's a muggle name."

"Again, I ask. What is your point?"

Harry looked at his professor "I thought you were supposed to be Slytherin. How can you not see this?"

"See what Potter?" Snape was starting to sound rather annoyed. Though, Harry couldn't tell whether it was because he was being obtuse or because Snape didn't get it.

"He hates his name, so he changed it to something else that sounds rather creepy. Everybody starts fearing him and he becomes You-Know-Who. Now, personally I have never like the moniker Boy-Who-Lived, it's not who I am. But Riddle is an egomaniac, he probably loves the monikers they gave him. He likes that his name alone can strike fear into people's hearts."

"The point, Potter." Snape snapped

"Tom Riddle is a muggle name and it isn't very scary. People forget that he's just a man because they are all afraid. They need to remember that no matter how powerful, he's just a man. It will help people gather the courage to fight, not to mention what it will do to his whole pure-blood fanaticism."

"People should be afraid, it will keep them alive. As for him being a half-blood, most of his inner circle knows."

"You really think knowing the truth will take away enough of their fear to get them killed?"

Snape's lips thinned a bit "No, I suppose not. I don't think it will make much of a difference either way."

"Maybe not. But wouldn't it be better for people to know the truth? Do you think Malfoy will want to grovel at the feet of a half-blood?"

"Malfoy is out for power."

"I mean Draco."

"Lucius and Draco are much alike. But you may have a point. I doubt either of them like the reality of being a Death-Eater."

It was Harry's turn to scoff "Does anyone actually like it?"

Frowning, Snape was quiet for a moment. "The Dark Lord is very powerful. There are those that will follow power no matter what the cost. Then there are the insane and disturbed." Pausing he looked Harry over for a long moment before he said "I did it for the knowledge."

Harry opened his mouth to say something but he was momentarily stunned silent. Snape became a Death Eater for the knowledge? That was just weird. What kind of knowledge could one get from following a maniac?

Apparently understanding his confusion, Snape explained "The Dark Lord is not simply powerful because he has a lot of magic. He is smart and used to be rather charismatic. He convinced me to join shortly after I graduated by promising me the opportunity to become a Potions Master as well as plenty of research projects."

"Why are you telling me this?" Harry couldn't help but ask. It was so out of character for the professor to reveal any personal information. Hearing the man talk about something so personal by choice was simply… strange.

"Because you need to understand that there are many reasons why people follow him. More importantly, you need to understand that he is a master at manipulating people. He knows what people want and knows how to use it to get his own way."

Biting his lip, Harry nodded. He knew what the professor meant. It was easy to succumb when you were offered your heart's desire. "There must have been more to it than just knowledge…" He doubted becoming a Potions Master was the man's heart's desire, no matter how much the man seemed to like being behind a cauldron.

"There was, but that is of no importance."

Harry just nodded slowly. He didn't really need to know what the reasons were for him to go that direction. People made mistakes, especially when they were young. If Snape had just graduated, he would have been 18 or 19. Barely an adult. So, instead of hammering on about a subject Snape clearly wasn't willing to discuss, he asked "So what's going to happen now? Am I to stay here for the summer?"

"No. We will go speak to the headmaster tomorrow morning and find a suitable solution."

"Is there somewhere else warded well enough? I mean, the headmaster said that there were no wards as strong as the blood wards."

Snape raised a brow "You didn't seem to care about that when you decided to stay at Hogwarts."

"The only people at Hogwarts in the summer are Professor Dumbledore, Professor Sprout, Hagrid and you. You can all defend yourself if it is necessary. Besides there are layers upon layers of wards around Hogwarts, some of them as old as the castle itself. Besides Gringotts, I don't know of another place with that kind of protection."

"And how is it you know all that?"

"I read." He left it at that, not willing to talk about the map.

"I was speaking of the summer residents as you well know."

Harry shrugged "I don't think that is important right now."

Snape sat forward, an intent look on his face "Ooh, but I think it is."

"If I don't need to know everything, why do you?"

"Because it might be important." Snape hissed, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

Harry wasn't intimidated though. He meant what he had said earlier, Snape has lost his fear factor. He knew the man was dangerous, and pushing him was a bad idea. But they were just talking right now, as long as Harry kept his cool, Snape wouldn't do a thing. "Professor Dumbledore knows, sir. Don't you think he would tell you if you needed to know?"

Snape sat back, his eyes still narrowed slightly. "I can see why the hat wanted to place you in Slytherin. It's a shame you don't use that brain of yours more often."

Harry just shrugged, not at all bothered by the insult. It was interesting, how much his behaviour had changed since the man had saved him from his family. Besides the momentary doubt when he was asked to enter the creepy house, Harry wasn't nearly as on edge as he used to be around the dour man. It wasn't just on Harry's side either. Snape's insults were less frequent and lacked the malice they normally held.

Cocking his head, he looked at the man for a long minute, wondering if he should just be completely honest. After all, Snape already knew his most embarrassing secret. Eventually, he decided against it. Giving away any personal information when it wasn't asked for wasn't very Slytherin, and Snape only respected them. It would do no good to go all Hufflepuff and volunteer anything, even if it would wipe that smirk of the professor's face. So instead, he went back to the original subject "So… Do you have any idea which place might be safe for me if I can't go to Hogwarts?"

"There are a few safe-houses under the fidelius, I suspect you will be placed there."

"My mum and dad were in a safe-house like that, it didn't help them…"

"They were betrayed by their secret-keeper. I doubt that will happen again."

"Do I get to choose the secret-keeper?" His parents had, and they chose wrong. He had to make sure he didn't make the same mistake.

Snape scoffed "Of course not. We are not going to set up a whole new house just for you."

Harry nodded slowly, he could understand that. He wasn't happy with it, but he understood. "So, that's the only option? Going to a house under the fidelius charm?"

"There are a few other options but they are highly unlikely in this particular situation."

"Options such as?"

Snape let out a long, possibly aggravated, breath. "Most pureblood families have at least one home that has been in the family for generations. Those houses have the same kind of layering of wards Hogwarts has."

Biting his lip, Harry shook his head. "I don't think staying with a pureblood family is a good idea. They'd become instant targets if it came out."

Snape gave a curt nod "Indeed. Now, it's late and we must get up early if we wish to speak to the headmaster. Do you wish to eat something first or go to bed straight away?"

Harry smiled happily at the offer of food and followed Snape into a small kitchen. Like the sitting room, it was rather dark and dilapidated, but it looked clean enough and the appliances seemed to be working fine. Snape made both of them some sandwiches and they ate in silence.

Harry still had a million and one questions he would like to ask, but knew he wouldn't get answers. Somehow, Snape had directed their earlier conversation so smoothly that it took Harry a whole sandwich before he realized that he hadn't actually got an answer to his most important question. What was going on with Riddle? Sighing in aggravation, he ate his other sandwich while mulling over the best way to actually get his questions answered. He needed to come up with a plan for the next time he had a chance to ask questions of the potions master.

As soon as they were done, Snape led Harry through a secret door behind one of the bookcases in the sitting room. Harry followed him up the stairs and was directed to the second door. Snape told him to be in the kitchen at 8 am and left him there. Under normal circumstances, Harry would have looked around the small bedroom, possibly snoop around a bit too. However, these weren't normal circumstances and Harry was tiered. So, instead of doing what he normally did, Harry feel face down on the matrass and dozed of almost immediately.

Tomorrow would be a new day and he expected it to be a marvellous one. No matter where he ended up for the rest of the summer, it wouldn't be Privet Drive and that meant the world to the raven haired Gryffindor.

 **Reviews are greatly appreciated!**

* * *

So.. This wasn't exactly a necessary chapter but I wanted to give you an idea of how things have changed. Not to mention that I wanted their first normal conversation to be mostly useless. It just didn't make any sense for them to start talking about Harry's home-life or the war effort right away..

Anyway, I wanted to ask you all a question. Up until now I've stuck to Harry's POV, since it is supposed to be a story of his summers.. But since he's with Snape now, I was wondering if you guys would like a chapter from his POV. I like writing Snape's POV but since it wasn't exactly planned.. I wanted your opinion. So, leave a review and tell me what you think!


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

The next morning, Harry woke up to the smell of breakfast. Smiling inwardly, he got dressed and went downstairs. It was definitely a change, being in Professor Snape's domain without worrying about the man's temper. Part of him was actually hoping that he could stay here for the rest of the summer. It wasn't that he wouldn't love to visit the Weasleys or maybe even see Sirius. It was just that for ones, Harry felt safe. Being around his friends would, under normal circumstances, have the same effect. Except that things weren't normal at the moment. There was a madman hell-bent on killing him and being around his friends would only endanger them. Snape on the other hand… Well, Harry didn't hate him anymore, he didn't even dislike the man, not when Snape was the one to get him away from his relatives. But even now that he didn't want anything to happen to the potions master, Harry wasn't worried. Unlike his friends, Snape was an adult and could handle himself.

Snape was already in the kitchen reading the paper when Harry joined him. A plate with some scrambled eggs and toast appeared in front of him and Harry dug in with relish. He was starving, even after only two days at the Dursleys. Besides a grumbled 'Good Morning', neither Harry nor Snape spoke. The potions master seemed to be completely engrossed in the morning paper, making Harry wonder whatever could be so interesting. He didn't ask though, and not just because he had a feeling disturbing Snape before noon was a bad idea. After last year, The Daily Prophet had lost any credibility in Harry's eyes. He could only imagine what they were printing these days and honestly, he was glad for that. He wanted to know what was going on in the magical world, but reading that particular rag would only aggravate him.

Once they were done with dinner, they left the house and Snape apparated them to Hogwarts. Harry still stumbled a bit but Snape had been right, it got just a tad bit easier. Soon, they were walking towards the gate, to the enormous entrance doors and up the stairs to the headmaster's office. The gargoyle moved before they had a chance to give the password and Dumbledore bade them enter before they even considered knocking the door.

Apparently, the headmaster had been expecting them. As there were two comfortable seats, two cups of tea and some biscuits waiting for them. Dumbledore told them to sit and continued scribbling on the parchment spread on his desk. Harry's brows raised at the lack of an offer of lemon drops but didn't comment on it. He'd started to suspect the headmaster had them infused with calming draught or some similar potion. Every time he accepted one, was followed by days of wondering why he hadn't asked the man to clarify his rather convoluted answers. It was always extremely innocent though, which was why he expected a calming draught. It was the only thing that Harry could think of that made one more agreeable but still capable of thinking clearly and freely.

Harry didn't really think the biscuits were similarly tainted but stuck to the tea just in case. They sat in silence for a few minutes. The only noises the soft scratching of the headmasters quill and the irritated ticking of Snape's spoon against his cup. The headmaster looked up with a genial smile, seemingly unperturbed by the glare Snape had been giving the older man since they sat down.

"Well my boys, what can I do for you?" There was no concern as to why the two were there to be found.

Snape answered before Harry could, and it wasn't at all what Harry had thought he would say. With narrowed eyes he hissed through his clenched teeth at the headmaster "He is not going back, find a different place for the child."

Dumbledore sighed and leaned back in his chair. "There is to other place Severus. You know this. With Voldemort back, Harry has to stay put."

Harry noticed the twitch of the arm as well as the irritated expression on Snape's face at the name. It made him wonder why the headmaster insisted of using it, he had to have noticed it hurt Snape every time he did so in his vicinity.

Snape didn't say anything on the subject though, instead he looked at Harry with a raised eyebrow. "Are you safe at Privet Drive?"

Harry, momentarily stunned at the question, shook his head.

"Speak up child."

Taking a deep breath to stop himself from getting annoyed at the tone, he answered honestly "No, sir. I've never been safe there."

"Why not?"

Harry really didn't feel like talking about this. Snape had seen it himself, why couldn't he be the one to explain it to the headmaster. After all, Harry's attempts of telling somebody had never helped before. But Snape would help this time, of that he was certain, though he didn't know why. So instead of shrugging him of as he wanted to, Harry answered honestly. "My family hates me, sir. They never cared for me and made sure I knew."

The headmaster sighed and sat forward, extending a hand towards Harry as if wishing to comfort him. "I'm sorry Harry, I know it's not ideal but you are safe there. Are hurt feelings really worse than the possibility of being caught and tortured by Death Eaters?"

Harry shrunk back slightly and shook his head. But before he could protest that it wasn't that simple. That his family did more than hurt his feelings, Snape snapped.

"Are you really that blind, old man? Have you learned nothing from your years as headmaster?"

Dumbledore blinked and looked at the potions master with some emotions Harry could decipher. "Severus, I expected you to do your job and keep Harry safe. You know how important it is for him to stay there. Why did you take him away without consulting me first?"

Snape snarled and stood him, looming dangerously towards the headmaster. "Because I was keeping him safe like I promised. I have no need to consult you about every little thing I do as this has nothing to do with you."

Dumbledore sat back, obviously not expecting that answer. "Is it not customary to inform the one who requested the task if plans are changed?"

Snape narrowed his eyes "I am informing you now."

The headmaster glanced from Harry to Snape and back "Harry, could you please leave us for a moment."

Harry was about the get up, strangely relieved with the reprieve -it wasn't exactly comfortable, to be in the middle of Snape and the headmaster's argument- but Snape moved to his side and put a hand on his shoulder. "Potter stays."

The men glared at each other for a moment, well one glared while the other remained oddly unaffected by it, before both of them sat back down. Dumbledore folder his hands and looked at Snape for a long time before asking "Why did you take Harry away from his home?"

Snape sneered "That's not a home, that's a house." He raked a hand through his hair and shot a glance a Harry. "The fact that the brat is still trying to do more than just survive is a miracle."

Dumbledore blinked at the man, then gave Harry and intense look. "Harry, has your family ever physically hurt you?"

Harry shrugged "Dudley used to pick on me all the time, but he quit after I started Hogwarts. He's too afraid that of growing another tail or choking on his tong."

Snape shot him an odd look but didn't comment. Harry had a feeling he was going to have to explain the comment later but didn't really care. It wasn't as if he had been the one to do either of those things to his cousin.

"What about your aunt and uncle? Did they ever hurt you?"

Another shrug, followed by a light tap to the back of his head from Snape. Clearly, he was expected to give verbal answers. "Not really. They didn't hit me or anything like that." Harry saw Snape twitch and quickly amended his answer "Well, they never hit be with fist or belts of anything like that."

Snape glared at Harry "That wale could have given you a concussion or dislocated your shoulder, shaking a child that violently." He shook his head, his face somewhere between disgusted and pissed off "And yet you say they never 'hit' you."

"It's not like grabbing someone's arm is a crime…" He knew the excuse was weak, but he couldn't help himself.

Snape's jaws locked as he glared at Harry. Hissing through his teeth he asked "What is the longest you've ever gone without food."

Cocking his head, Harry thought a moment. He'd been locked in his room for several weeks more than once, but usually he was allowed to eat once every so often. In the cupboard, he sometimes forgot how long it had been. Shaking his head, he looked at Snape feeling rather lost all of a sudden. "I don't know sir. A week?"

The adults glanced at each other and both of them drew in long steading breaths. Then Snape asked "What did your family do when you were sick?"

Harry's eyes shot towards the man. Why was he asking that? The food he could understand. After all, Snape had seen how little he was allowed to eat during his stay. But he hadn't been sick so why would Snape go there? Realizing it didn't matter why, Harry slumped. "They locked me in my room until I got better."

All of a sudden, Harry felt a crackling, like electricity, run over his skin. Looking up, he saw that the headmaster was now standing, his fists clenched. Harry thought they should really quit now, not willing to risk the headmaster from becoming even angrier, but Snape had other plans.

"Where was your room, Potter?"

Looking from Snape to the headmaster, Harry wondered what the man was doing. Did the potions master really think it was a good idea to talk about this now? When it was clear that Dumbledore was on the verge of losing it. For some reason, he decided to thrust that Snape knew what he was doing and answered. "My room was under the cupboard. I was given Dudley's second room when the first letter arrived and they thought somebody was watching them."

Dumbledore practically fell back into his chair, his eyes closed as wind swirled around the room. They sat in silence. The two younger men looking on, as the older one did his best to regain some control. Slowly, the air calmed and the electric feeling stopped buzzing along Harry's skin. The headmasters face became calm, almost as blank as Snape's usually was. Looking at Harry he said "I am sorry. I knew you didn't like it there." Rubbing a hand over his face, the headmaster seemed extremely tiered all of a sudden. "I have been purposely blind. I should have asked, should have looked closer. But you were safe and you are such a happy and well-adjusted child…"

Both black haired males snorted, but it was Snape that sneered "So it's his fault you refused to open your eyes, again?"

The headmaster shook his head "No, I did not mean that. I was simply attempting to… Explain, I suppose. I have no excuse, I should have looked."

"You have more than enough excuses, you have been telling them to yourself for years and you will continue to do so. You will make the same mistake over and over again. You don't even know how many students currently reside in similar situations."

Dumbledore blinked in surprise "Severus?"

Snape sighed "I only inform you of those that can be helped. There is no use informing you of the actions of certain parents when there is no legal way to step in."

The headmaster nodded and turned back to Harry "I am sorry for my actions, my boy. I should have checked on you."

Again Harry snorted "You should not have left me there in the first place. For Merlins sake, it was November and you left a baby on a doorstep. Just what were you expecting?"

Dumbledore closed his eyes again, and Harry wasn't certain if he was trying to deal with the guilt or was simply trying to forget and pretend it didn't exist for as long as he could. "I'm sorry, Harry. I… There is nothing I can say to change what has happened."

Snape nodded as if he agreed with that statement, clearly not at all affected by the headmasters distress, and snapped "How about you tell the child what will happen now. There is no need to keep him in suspense just so you can have some extra time to deal with this supposedly new information."

The headmaster glanced for Harry to Snape, a small smile returning to his lips. "Yes, of course. What did you have in mind Severus?"

"I had thought I would leave that to you, headmaster. However, might I suggest he goes to headquarters? I'm sure the mutt would love to see him."

Harry nodded happily. He wasn't sure where headquarters was, but if Sirius was there, he wanted to go. He hadn't been able to spend any time with his godfather yet, and he desperately wanted to. Besides, Sirius was a wanted criminal, if he was safely hidden there than surely they wouldn't be able to find Harry there.

Dumbledore however, seemed to think that was a bad idea. "Headquarters is not a good option at this time." The headmaster rubbed his hand over his beard a few times, as if deep in thought. "There is a house that might be suited for the situation, but it currently stands empty."

Harry shrugged "I've been taking care of myself since I could walk. If Mrs. Weasley could bring me some groceries ones a week, I would be perfectly fine staying along for the summer."

The headmaster smiled at him encouragingly, but obviously disagreed "I'm sorry Harry, just because you can look after yourself doesn't mean you should. You need an adult to take care of you." Snape scoffed, drawing the attention of the headmaster "You disagree, Severus?"

The man shook his head "No. I absolutely agree that he can't stay alone. I just don't think you and I agree on the definition of _care_."

Harry didn't know why, but he had a feeling Snape was rather unhappy with the headmaster at the moment. Normally, he would have thought the comment meant that Snape thought Dumbledore wanted to coddle him. For some reason though, it sounded more like Snape was saying the opposite. Like he thought the headmaster wasn't doing enough, instead of the usual blather about bending to the golden boys every whim.

The headmaster's response was something neither of them had expected. His eyes once again back to their normal twinkling state, he said "Well then, how about you take care of Harry? You were complaining about having to return to Spinners End, were you not?"

Snape's face was completely blank as he stared at the headmaster "No."

Harry bit his lip at the outright refusal. It wasn't that he particularly wanted to stay with the dour potions master. He'd much rather move in with his godfather. But still, the refusal hurt. No matter how badly the two of them got along, being unwanted always hurt.

"Please, Severus? I have nobody else I can trust with this matter."

Snape scoffed "You have the entire Order at your disposal. Ask one of them to do it."

"They have things to do."

Folding his harm in front of his chest, Snape glared "So do I."

Smiling slightly, the headmaster nodded "I know my boy. But there is a potions lab at the house and Harry has already promised to behave if you were to be called. You know this is the best solution."

The two men glared at each other for a while, while Harry looked from one man to the other, nervously twisting the fabric of his robes between his fingers. He had no idea what he wanted to happen, whether he wanted to stay in the same house with Snape or not. When Snape finally uncrossed his arms and leaned towards the headmaster, Harry held his breath.

"I'll do it, under one condition…" He paused for a moment, then added with a rather smug smile "I want full guardianship over the child."

The headmaster's eyes widened while Harry sputtered. "Y..you want what?"

Snape turned his head and lifted a brow as if to say _do you really want to discuss this now?_ Harry didn't know what to think of the look, of course he wanted to know what the hell was going on right now. If he was going to get a new guardian he was damn well going to have to say something about it. The headmaster saved him from having to comment.

"That's not possible and you know it. We cannot compromise your position with Voldemort like that."

Snape glared at the headmaster. Whether it was for using the name or for mentioning his position as a spy so cavalierly, Harry didn't know. "We will sign the papers and file them at Gringotts. I don't care if the world believes you are still his magical guardian, nor do I particularly care if you pretend he is still living with his relatives. All I care about is that you realise that I make the final decisions from now on."

Harry would have giggled at the headmasters dropped jaw was it not for the fact that he was slightly shaken of balance as well. He couldn't figure out why Snape was doing this. Why had he changed his mind so abruptly? There had to be a reason; after all, Snape never did anything without a reason. Harry could only hope that for ones, the man's reasons were not based on his hatred for Harry's father, as they usually were. Eventually, Harry grew tired of the two men staring at each other. Clearing his throat to get their attention, he said "You realize of course, that I am the one who has the last say. You can keep me from doing things or encourage me, but after all this time you must realize that I do what I want…"

Snape snorted "This isn't about what you do or don't do. This is about what the adults around you do, or don't do."

Harry rolled his eyes and muttered "Adults are useless."

He'd expected Snape to snap at him for the comment and was surprised when Snape just smirked and turned back to the headmaster. "And that's exactly why I want guardianship if I must take on this task."

Dumbledore pursed his lips and nodded slowly "You will not divulge anything without my permission."

Snape gave a curt nod "He is a child, I will not concern him with thing you would rather keep hidden. Now, where is it we are supposed to go?"

Two hours later, Snape and Harry landed safely in the backyard of a large estate. The headmaster had refused to tell them where they were going. Instead he'd made them a code activated portkey and send them of to pack. Assuring Harry that he would visit them within the next two weeks to discuss the possibility of visiting Sirius. Harry was reasonably certain he'd offered in an attempt to make up for his negligence regarding Harry's home situation but wasn't about to decline. He was apprehensive of being under Snape's guardianship and had a feeling seeing Sirius would be a happy escape.

Snape led out a groan when they arrived. Glaring at Harry he said "Welcome to Potter Mansion."

Harry looked at the large colonial style mansion in surprise. This was his family's home? Walking forward to get a closer look, he asked "How do you know?"

"I have seen pictures. Now get inside."

Harry did as asked and looked around, mouth wide open in astonishment. It was absolutely marvellous. The entrance hall alone was larger than the whole of Privet Drive. Putting his trunk to the side, he started exploring with giddy anticipation. Snape called after him a few time but Harry ignored the man. He was in his father's childhood home, he simply had to look around.

About an hour later, Harry dropped down in one of the armchairs in the library with a grin on his face. Snape had his nose in a book and appeared to be ignoring Harry. Fairly certain the man wouldn't appreciate being interrupted, Harry grabbed one of the books on a nearby shelf and started looking through it. It was a book on charms, many of which Harry already knew. But there were a few that looked handy. Waving his hand, Harry summoned some parchment from the desk in the corner and grabbed his wand to copy the charms he wanted to remember. Before he had a change to do anything, Snape interrupted him.

"Since when did you become so adept at summoning charms?"

Harry looked up with a grimace. He hadn't actually intended for anyone to find that out, especially not Snape. "I learned it for my first task."

"You had a wand during the task, and you said the spell. You did neither a moment ago."

Harry sighed in aggravation, he really shouldn't have been so careless. Not even his best friends new of the things he'd learned during the past year. Shrugging, he tried to make light of it "It's just a bit of parchment, sir."

Snape's eyes narrowed "How can you be so cavalier over using magic like that? Do you have no respect for the skill it takes whatsoever?"

Blinking, Harry stared at him. "It's just accidental magic."

"Yet, it wasn't accidental, was it?"

"Well no, but it never really is. I may not have intended to actually blow up my aunt but I definitely wished for her to go away. And I landed on the roof because I wanted to be somewhere Dudley and his gang couldn't get me. It was never really expected but it wasn't really accidental either."

"That is how accidental magic works. Children wish for silly things and sometimes, a child's magic may grant it. Though usually not in the way expected, as a child cannot comprehend magic well enough to use it accurately. Ones you gain control over you magic and learn how to use it correctly, such incidents stop."

"I've heard that before. I always thought it sounded strange. I mean, I get that you need to learn control. Magic can be dangerous if you can't direct it properly, I know that. But why would you cut of your ability to do accidental magic if you could instead learn to wield it properly."

Snape led out a deep breath and raked a hand through his hair. Standing up he walked towards one of the shelfs lining the wall. He seemed to be looking for a particular book while muttering something under his breath that sounded remarkably like "I can't believe this. The brat doesn't even know what he is doing and still he manages to use magic beyond anyone but Albus."

After a minute of searching, he returned and handed Harry a book. Harry read the title and was instantly fascinated _Wandless magic, from start to finish._ He gave Snape an inquiring look "I thought wandless magic still required you to use spells."

"Yes." Snape almost hissed the word, then seemed to get his frustration under control and added "Many wizards never learn how to channel their magic without a wand. Even fewer are capable of using that magic freely. Unless you just lied and have somehow learned to use a wandless and non-verbal summoning charm, you have a very rare natural ability."

"Can Riddle do it?" It was the first thing that Harry thought of. If the dark wizard couldn't, than maybe Harry had something he could use.

"The Dark Lord is a master in non-verbal as well as wandless magic. Whether he needs spells or not, I cannot say. However, it is highly likely that he has the same ability."

Harry sighed, only slightly disappointed. In the back of his mind, he'd known there could be no definitive answer to the question. "It's impossible to tell the difference unless the person in questions tells you."

As Snape nodded, Harry hung his head "I should have just pretended to know non-verbal magic and was already holding my wand."

Snorting, the man shook his head. "The day you can fool me is the day I give fifty point to Gryffindor."

Harry leaned forward, suddenly very interested "Is that a challenge, sir?"

"You will never succeed, Potter."

Grinning, Harry sat back "I have three years left, I will learn."

Snape looked at him with a curious expression for a long time, before he got up and left the room without another word. Harry shrugged at the man's departure and started to read the book on wandless magic.

Harry hadn't even finished the first chapter when Snape returned, four more books in hand. Sitting down, he placed the books in front of Harry with a pointed glare. "By the end of the summer, you will have finished all five of these books. You can go through them and practise on your own. You can come to me with questions or for help on your practical work. At the end of each week, we will go through your progress."

Harry put the book on wandless magic to the side and looked at the other four. He smiled at the first book, it was _Practical defence against the dark arts_ , one of the books he had bought the last time they had visited. The second and third books on the piles seemed rather standard, respectively they were called _Book of Spells_ and _Book of Potions_. The book on the bottom was _Ancient runes made easy_ , which made him look at the Potions Master in confusion. "I don't have runes, sir."

"I am well aware that you chose to waste your time with fortune-telling, Mr. Potter. However, since you are residing with me, you will be studying what I tell you to study."

Harry smirked at the man "I think that technically, you are residing with me sir."

Glaring at Harry, Snape hissed "I am the adult, Potter. You will do as I say."

Sighing deeply, Harry nodded "As I told you yesterday, I will listen as long as you are willing to explain. If you could tell me why I need to study runes, I might do so willingly."

Pinching the bridge of his nose in aggravation, Snape answered, his teeth still clenched. "Runes can be used in various ways, most importantly warding. Not to mention that it is a form of magic that can be used with very little energy. You simply draw or carve the rune and activate it. The strength depends on accuracy and very little magic is required. I assumed you wished to be able to defend yourself, even when you are at your weakest."

No matter how much he wished to disagree, he really couldn't. The man had a point. Runes were another way of using magic. He really should learn the basics of all magical fields. Looking at the man, who seemed to be studying his face, Harry couldn't help but ask "Why did you ask for guardianship, sir?"

"There are many things I cannot tell you, Potter. For many different reasons." Harry was about to comment put Snape held up a hand to stop him "Don't be arrogant, Potter. None of those reasons include you in any way. While I agree with the headmaster that you are still young, I do not believe that is a good reason to keep things from you. There are, however, other things that must be taken into consideration." He waited for Harry to give some sign of acceptance before he continued. "I have several reasons why I demanded guardianship over you. But there is only one I can share with you at this moment."

"Fine, what is it?"

Snape looked to the sky as if begging for patients "Manners, Potter. As for my reason, it's simple. Before, I believed you to be a spoiled little brat who got everything he could ever want. I assumed your mediocre performance at school was due to your own idiocy. However, after realizing how you grew up; I came to realize that your lack of education is most likely due to a lack of guidance. If I am to be responsible for you for the summer, we might as will use this time to further your education."

"You could do that without guardianship, I doubt Dumbledore would mind if you helped me with my studies. Plus, won't this whole guardian this last until I become of age?"

" _Professor_ Dumbledore would have restricted our fields of study. You cannot afford to be picky, not with the amount of danger you're in. And yes, this would be until you come of age. Unless of course, you or I decide to rip up the documents."

"Aren't they filed with Gringotts?"

"Yes they are. Legal document can be destroyed by the subjects."

"Didn't the headmaster sign the document too?"

"Yes, but he's not a recipient. It's similar to buying a car. Once everything is signed, the previous owner loses all claims."

"Except, I'm not a car." Harry grumped, offended by the idea of it. Being signed over as if he were a lifeless machine.

Snape smirked at him and drawled "Indeed. Which is why you have access to the papers as well. Once a child becomes eleven, they are considered old enough to make certain decisions on their own. Choosing your own guardians is part of that, though you must always have at least one."

Harry gaped at the man "You're saying I could have left the Dursleys since I started Hogwarts?"

The professor's face showed a flicker of regret before it became blank. "No, this is only Gringotts we are speaking about. Changing your guardians through the ministry is a lot harder."

"What's the difference?"

"The arrangement I have with Albus only works because of certain understandings we have. Legally, your relatives are still your guardians."

Harry bit his lip at that "So, I could still be sent back there?"

"No." Snape's eyes flashed with something Harry couldn't place. It might have been anger or pity, he couldn't say. "Don't worry about it, Harry."

Harry's eyes snapped to the professor's face at the use of his name. Snape never called his by his first name, it was always Potter. The professor looked at him as if he hadn't said anything strange at all. Deciding not to comment, he turned back to the books. "I have my own copy of practical defence against the dark arts."

"Have you read it?"

"Yes, though there are a few spells I have been able to cast yet."

"We can discuss them somewhere this week. Today I want you to write down exactly what your summer homework is for each class. Once you've done that, you can either start your homework or look through the books."

The Gryffindor groaned "I'm going to have to spend by whole summer studying, don't I?"

"Don't whine, it's unbecoming. I have a meeting in an hour, but I will be back for dinner. We will discuss my expectations as well as your schedule then."

Harry gave a short nod "Be careful, wherever you're going."

Stopping in his way out the Library, Snape turned at gave harry a strange look "Not that kind of meeting, Potter."

"Ooh, Okay." Harry shrugged, strangely relieved. Just as the professor stepped out the door, he thought to ask "Wait, how will I get dinner? There's nothing in the kitchen."

He heard Snape's reply coming from somewhere down the hallway "Call that elf that's always gushing about you, Mr. Potter."

 **Please review!**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapters will be a bit longer from now on but there are only a few left so..

Hope you don't mind :)

 **Chapter 10**

Harry spend the rest of the day in the library. Diligently writing down his homework and going through the books he'd been given. The books were interesting, though it didn't take him long to realize that he already knew most of the spells in the spell book. As for the book on potions, it seemed to be filled with simple potions he had already studied, yet most of the instructions deviated slightly. It also had a lot more side notes explaining the need for certain steps and reasoning behind others. He'd only read through the first three potions and was already certain that he had learned more than he ever had during Snape's lessons.

It didn't take him more than two chapters before he realized that Ancient Runes was definitely going to be the hardest. It was like learning a new language, a dead language at that. Not only would he had to learn the different symbols (which included hieroglyph as well as runes and several other symbolic scripts), he had a whole new set of rules for combining words as well as how exactly to use them.

Harry had just finished marking the spells he hadn't managed yet when Snape returned. Which coincided with the appearance of the dinner he had asked Dobby to bring. They sat down together and ate in a not entirely uncomfortable silence. Had dinner not consisted of Harry's favourites, he may have considered how strange it was that he could relax with the potions master in the room. As it was, Harry was completely focussed on his food and had almost forgotten the man was even there when Snape interrupted him.

"Tomorrow, we will go to Gringotts to sign the necessary papers."

Looking up in surprise, Harry frowned at the mention of the bank. "If this house belongs to the Potters, why did nobody tell me about it?"

"You will get access to the whole of the Potter estate when you become of age."

"But Griphook told me about the vaults I would get once I turned 17. Why didn't they mention the house?"

"Probably because they do not know of it. It is possible for the head of a family to hand certain properties to the goblins to be held in a trust. In that case, they will ensure the house is kept secure and in a decent state until the recipient comes to claim it. However, with family homes like these, this is usually not done."

"Why not?"

Snape sighed and shook his head "I will add some lessons on proper behaviour, traditions and expectations of an heir to a family name to our summer plan."

Harry groaned but didn't comment on the additions to his as of yet undetermined schedule. "Why not, sir?"

"There are several reasons, the most important being the repercussions if a recipient does not claim the home within the allotted timeframe."

"Which are?"

"That depends on the contract. Usually, the home becomes to property of Gringotts and is sold at an auction. Under some circumstances, the house is connected to a vault and will be kept in trust until there is no more money left for the upkeep, at which point it will be sold."

Harry nodded slowly, starting to understand. "So, I'm assuming that the ownership papers to the mansion can be found in one of the Potter vaults?"

"Probably. I don't know if the mansion was still in your family's possession when your parents were murdered. Since Albus has it under a fidellius, it is possible that your father gave it to him."

"So, this might not be Potter mansion any longer?" Harry asked, disappointment lacing through his voice. He'd gone through most of the rooms and hadn't found anything of interest. There were no portraits or belonging left of any kind. Yet, he felt connected to the house. Even if there was no trace of his father left, he'd still grown up here.

"Don't worry about that Potter. If the headmaster is in possession of the ownership papers, I'm sure they will be returned to you once you come of age."

Harry wasn't so sure of that. He had a feeling that Dumbledore would keep the house until he no longer needed it. And since it was one of the houses under the fidelius, that would probably be until the war was over. Instead of worrying, he let the subject drop. It didn't matter right now. He was too young to own the house in any case. By the time he was of age, the war might be over. If it wasn't, he would just have to find a way to convince the headmaster to return the mansion. It wasn't as if he was afraid to never get it back. After all, Dumbledore had returned his invisibility cloak which was a lot rarer than the house. "So, what about this schedule you mentioned. Am I going to be forced to do chores all day?"

Snape scoffed "That's what house elfs are for Potter."

"I don't have house elfs."

"I suspect some of the school elfs have been taking care of the place, since it seems to be in perfect order. If not, I'm sure that annoying free elf will be happy to help out."

"His name is Dobby."

"I'll endeavour to remember that. Now, as for your schedule." Snape gave a nonchalant wave of his wand and a parchment appeared in front of Harry. "We will have breakfast at 8am. You may make it yourself or ask Dobby, it doesn't matter to me, but you will be in the dining room to eat on time. If I find you still asleep, you will not like my method of waking you."

Harry rolled his eyes at the man's warning glare, as if Harry ever had the chance to sleep in during the summer. Breakfast at 8am suited him perfectly, especially if he didn't have to make it himself.

"Lunch will be at noon and will be made by you. Whether it is a hot meal or simple sandwiches does not matter, as long as you ensure it is edible and has some variation. Between breakfast and lunch, you will study. Did you finish that list of homework?"

Nodding, Harry pulled the parchment out of his back pocket and handed it to Snape. Who looked it over quickly.

"I expect you to finish at least one of these essays every two days. When you have finished one, you will bring it to me so I can look it over. If I am unhappy with your work, you will fix it. I will not accept the kind of atrocious summer essays you normally hand in."

"They took away my books and if they didn't, they kept me so busy I had no time to even think of homework."

"I am aware of that Potter. Which is why I expect better from you this summer. You will have enough time to do your work in peace. Now, as for the rest of your day. After lunch, you have two hours to do as you wish. The wards extend to the outside so you may go flying if you wish. However, if I see any of those death defying stunts you do during the games, I will take your broom away." Snape gave Harry a warning glare which made the boy gulp but nod in acceptance.

"What you do between 2 and 5 O'clock will depend on my own schedule. You will either be helping me in the lab, reading one of the books I give you, or you will have a lesson on a subject of my choice."

Harry just stared at the man. He was supposed to help him in the lab? Had the professor gone insane? He had to remember that Harry was completely useless in a potions lab. Well, technically that wasn't true. He was only useless when there were Slytherins in the room. He didn't get a chance to comment though, as Snape was already continuing.

"Dinner will be at six and will usually be made by me. Though there may be days I ask you to cook because I'm busy. If you behave during the day, you will have the evenings to yourself. If not, you will be scrubbing cauldrons."

Harry gaped "You can't give me detention, it's summer."

"Behave and we won't have to test whether I can give you detention or not."

"Fine. How about these lessons? What exactly are you planning to teach me?"

Snape pursed his lips, as if considering something, before he answered "We will start with the basics. Due to the way you were raised, you lack much of the basic knowledge the other children have."

"I have the same background as any of the muggle-born students. If that is so lacking, why aren't there any classes to catch us up?"

"Because muggle-born witches or wizards have a lifetime to learn. Not to mention that they do not need to know pure-blood traditions."

"I thought you didn't believe in the whole blood-purity spiel."

"This isn't about blood-purity. It's about you becoming Lord Potter when your turn 17. You need to know what comes with being the head of a family."

"It's not like I have a family to be head of you know…"

Snape stared at him "You may have children one day. I assume you would want to know how to take care of them."

Harry nodded reluctantly, Snape had a point. "Fine, I get your point. Is that all or is there something else you think I lack?"

Snape smirked "We could sit here for days and I'd still be listing things you lack. However, for the summer, I think we will stick to working on your lack of common sense as well as expand your defensive training."

"I don't lack common sense."

"Yes, you do. But if you truly belonged in Slytherin as you claim, we can fix that."

Harry grumbled under his breath but didn't have the energy to protest. It was hard to find the anger he usually felt for the man when he was being mostly civil. The little jibes he made towards Harry weren't all that bothersome as long as they weren't about his father or the comfy life Snape believed him to have. If the professor managed to keep the information about Harry's family life to himself, Harry might even come to be happy that the man knew. Even if Harry had always hated Potions, he was well aware that Snape was absolutely brilliant. He was more than a bit curious what the man was planning to teach him. So, Harry was going to try and get along with the man. "What kind of defensive training? Am I going to learn new spells?"

"Indubitably. In two weeks, you will also start physical training."

"Why in two weeks?"

Snape looked Harry up and down with a slight sneer. "Because you have been malnourished for most of your life. While you seem to be smart enough to regain some weight during school, none of that will ever make up for the years you have missed. You need at least two weeks of my strongest nutritional potions before we can even begin to think of training. You are also in need of reconstructive glasses and a new wardrobe, though those can wait until you start conditioning. I doubt you will be able to run the full hour within the first week."

"You realize I've been playing Quidditch for four years right? Well, three years but since the tournament was a lot more gruelling than a Quidditch season…"

"I expect you to run laps, not fly them."

That made Harry outright laugh "I don't know how the Slytherin team works, but we do laps. Quite a lot of them in fact."

Snape stared at him for a moment, his lips pursed "Why?"

Shrugging, Harry answered with a simple "Wood." He wasn't sure if Snape understood the comment, it wasn't like the man had any reason to know of Wood's unrelenting drive to win. But since he made no further comment, neither did Harry. "So, for tonight. I have some free time?"

"Since you did everything I asked of you, I will leave that up to you. I will be in the lab, brewing that nutritional potion for you. You are welcome to join me."

Harry gaped at the man "Join you?" His voice came out rather squeaky and his cheeks flamed in embarrassment.

Snape just rolled his eyes "I have a list of potions I must brew for Poppy. There are a few that you should be able to brew easily."

"Did you hit your head?" Harry's eyes grew wide at the question that left his lips. He hadn't meant to ask that. Normally he wouldn't have. He would have thought it, but he would have had the sense to swallow it. Clearly, Snape being civil was throwing him off.

"Since I find myself curious about your ability to brew in a less… hostile environment, possibly."

Harry snickered at the answer but eventually nodded in acceptance. There was a part of him that really wanted to go to the room he had chosen for himself and stay as far away from the professor as possible. It was almost a reflex. Much as staying out of his relatives view had become second nature. Except that being around Snape had been going rather well these last few days. Scurrying of now would not work in his favour. Plus, there was the fact that Harry was rather curious about his ability to brew as well. He had a feeling it would be a lot easier without Draco in the room, and with Snape focussed on his own work.

So, they had gone downstairs to the potions lab, which was located in the second basement. Snape had handed him a recipe and handed him some of the ingredients that were still packed in boxes. Apparently, Snape had brought everything he needed that afternoon, while Harry had been reading in the library. He'd then gone to the other side of the room to a second cauldron and started to work on his potion, no longer paying attention to Harry.

At first, Harry had still been slightly tense and he had screwed up while slicing one of the ingredients. He had banished the mangled roots with a spell. Snape had looked up with a raised brow but hadn't said anything. Instead, he had levitated a jar with more roots over to Harry and gone back to his own dicing. It had still taken a few more minutes before Harry was finally able to relax but soon he was brewing happily. At some point, he had started humming under his breath and Snape had given him a strange look. Harry had felt the eyes prickling on his neck and stopped humming at once. Snape never made a comment.

An hour and a half later, Harry had finished a perfect Sleeping Draught. It was only a second year potion but still, Harry was extremely proud of himself. Even during the few lessons that Snape didn't pay attention to him, he had never managed to brew a perfect potion. He bottled his potion, cleaned up his work station and put the vials on one of the empty workbenches. He was about to leave when Snape told him to sit and put a stasis spell on his cauldron.

Turning back to wait for Snape's judgement on his potion, Harry closed his eyes and wished with all his might that for once, Snape wouldn't completely bash his hard work. He watched the potions master as he looked at the colour, twirled the liquid around the bottle, and took of the cork for a sniff. Putting the vial back, he glared at Harry so fiercely that the boy took a step back. As he did that, Snape held up a hand and his expression turned blank once again.

"Explain why you never, not even once, handed in work like that. I highly doubt your work would be influenced that much simply because I like to hassle you."

"It's not just you. It's Draco throwing in stray ingredients, Neville blowing up cauldrons, and the never ending looks and whispers."

"You are blaming others for your lack of concentration."

Harry sighed and shook his head, he should have seen that one coming. "No, I'm blaming the constant need to look after my own back. It makes me miss the obvious. Normally, it's not that bad. Once every so often I miss Malfoy coming around the corner because I'm trying not to hear what they are saying. Or I don't pay attention when the stairs change because of the looks. Then off course, there are the times I run into people because I'm trying to get away from those idiots that think they know me because of the stories…" He paused, there were more examples he could give but there really was no need. Snape only cared about his lack of attention during Potions. "I realize how dangerous potions can be. One wrong ingredient and you could blow up the classroom. I am not willing to risk anyone getting hurt just because I'm not paying attention to what is going on around me. Do you have any idea of how many times I only just managed to catch a dangerous ingredient being thrown in my cauldron?"

Snape stared at him for a moment "Mr. Malfoy is an arrogant child, but he is rather good at potions. And he is well aware what would happen if I ever caught him trying to cause an explosion…"

Harry scoffed "You are way too busy keeping Neville from destroying your classroom and bullying me to ever catch him, and he knows it."

Snape made an annoyed face but didn't say anything to contradict Harry's statement. It was a nice change. Not only was the man not whining about the way Harry spoke, he was actually admitting Harry was right. Well, maybe not admitting, since he remained silent. But silence from Snape was the same thing as agreement.

After a few moments of silence, Snape went back to his work. "Outstanding second year potion, Potter. You may pick another potion from the list or go and do whatever it is teenage boys do."

Harry debated on that for a moment, eventually asking "Would you mind if I came back tomorrow? I wanted to finish the chapter I started on natural magic."

Snape gave him an odd look, then gave him a curt nod. "As long as you are quiet, you may join me whenever you wish. I do not want you down here alone though."

Harry made a face "That's fine. And sorry about the humming, sir. I didn't realize I was doing it until you gave me that look."

Snape inclined his head in acceptance of the apology and Harry left him to his work.

The following week went by quickly as Harry followed Snape's schedule diligently. It wasn't hard. His relatives worked him much harder and their jobs were usually useless to Harry. Sure, they thought him how to cook and clean, how to take care of a garden as well as people. But those were things Harry had learned years ago, and he saw no reason why he'd have to do everything every day while his so called family did nothing.

Making lunch and doing the rare chore for Snape was not nearly as taxing as the demands of his relatives. And while he wasn't a fan of the morning homework session, he knew that it was for his own good. Besides, if he kept going through his work at the rate he was doing, he expected to be done by the second week. Though, he was fairly certain that Snape would have something to comment on each assignment and make him fix whatever the man thought wrong. But that too, Harry was perfectly fine with. The only person to ever check his homework was Hermione, and while she was very good at schoolwork, she had nowhere near the amount of knowledge as the professor. Harry would never admit it, but he kind of liked having an adult to help him.

Especially when the etiquette lessons turned into discussions on everything magical. Snape wasn't just smart, he was intelligent. He could twist words and make a no sound like a yes, as well as the other around. Towards the end of the first week, they had a discussion on the dark arts. By the end of it, Snape had convinced Harry that no such thing existed. According to the Potions Master, magic had no concept of light or dark. Only witches and wizards made that distinction. Which in Snape's mind, meant that the distinction lay in said witch or wizards intention.

Harry tried his best to disprove Snape's theory. Citing spells he knew to be evil, since there simply was no way one could use certain spells with good intentions. Being Harry Potter, he'd started with the Killing Curse, which Snape quickly dismantled when he mentioned euthanasia. They went through a whole list of spells often considered dark. In the end, they had thought of light, or at least neutral, ways to use them all except for one. Neither Snape not Harry could come up with a non-evil use for the Crusiatus Curse.

Before he had gone to bed that night, Snape had given him another book called _Magical Neutrality_. Which held a fountain of information on any kind of magic Harry could imagine. Most of the book seemed to be written for teenagers, never going to deep into one subject or using words no decent teen would know. Though Harry was certain the book would not be found in the Hogwarts library, and the headmaster would definitely not have wanted him to read it. Since many of the chapters held examples of how one could use a particular kind of magic for bad, as well as good.

Harry absolutely loved it. There were no spells or anything like that in the book, neither was he particularly interested in the gruesome ways some people had used certain magic. What interested him were the amount of different kind of magic, and more importantly the diversity of each one. Blood magic for example, which generally considered dark magic, could not only be used for the kind of evil spells that Riddle did in the graveyard. According to the book, one could heal the most grievous wounds with only a single drop of blood from a close relative.

The chapter on runic magic was small yet still large enough to flame some interest in the subject. He'd always known there were many ways of using runes, but he'd always thought it to complicated. Who has the time to draw runes in the middle of a duel? Sure, they could be used as wards and such, but if you have the time to draw them, you have the time to research the ones you need. Except that the book had mentioned the possibility of placing rune stones on a cauldron, as a way of shielding it from outside influences. Such runes would have to be chosen with a specific potions in mind, and would have to be temporary if one wished to use a cauldron for more than one potion. But if he could learn enough to find the correct runes for each potion, they wouldn't just allow him to keep Malfoy from throwing in stray ingredients. They had the possibility of reducing or prolonging the brewing process, allowing for more time to do certain steps, as well as enhancing the effects of the finished project. It was an interesting possibility, removing his potions problems with the help of runes.

Then there was the chapter on soul magic, a chapter Harry had trouble reading. It was a kind of magic that mostly relied on sacrifice, since usually one needed a soul on this side of the veil to work it. There were a lot of references to sacrificial offerings and such, which was rather creepy, even if most of the sacrifices involved animals. What was worst though was the fact that Harry was certain his mother's sacrifice had been used for soul magic. He was fairly certain it had been completely unintentional on his mother's part, but somehow she had used her own sacrifice to weave some kind of protection around Harry. Dumbledore called it a blood-ward but Harry was fairly certain that is was some kind of soul-magic attached to his mother's family.

The book had given him so much information -even though there was nothing on practical use- that he had needed several hours of silence to mull it all over. There were so many possibilities, so many examples. And there was something in the back of Harry's mind that kept niggling at him. Something important that he just couldn't…

The floo flared and all of a sudden, Professor Dumbledore stood in front of him, smiling jovially. "Good evening, my boy. How are you doing?"

"Good evening, sir. I'm doing well. How about you?" Harry smiled at the man. Now that he was away from the Dursleys, the annoyance with the grandfatherly headmaster had mostly left him. Though, he was still miffed at the fact that everybody refused to tell him anything about the war.

"I'm fine, my boy. How about a cup of tea?"

Nodding, Harry called for Dobby to bring them some tea and motioned for the professor to sit down in one of the comfortable armchairs. Dobby appeared with the tea seconds later and handed them both one. As Harry took a sip, he noticed Dumbledore frowning at something on the table.

Following his gaze, Harry grimaced. The book was still laying there, and he was quite aware that the headmaster would not approve of him reading it. For a single second, he wondered if he should just say that Snape had been reading it. But as soon as the thought came, it vanished. Blaming Snape would not do. Whether it was because Harry was well aware that Dumbledore would know that Snape's knowledge was way above that particular book, or because it was simply that Harry didn't want to get Snape in trouble, he wasn't sure. Eventually though, he gave the headmaster what he hoped to be a pleading look "Please don't tell Professor Snape I was reading that. He'll forbid me from going through the library on my own, and those books used to belong to my family." The lie fell of his lips so easily, he almost fumbled it all up by looking too surprised at his own words.

Luckily, Snape entered the room at that precise moment. Changing Harry's surprise at him own lie into surprise of Snape saying "Good evening, Albus."

Professor Dumbledore looked from Harry to Snape, something like confusion but different written all over his face. "Severus." The headmaster inclined his head towards the man.

"Are you here for me or the boy?"

Dumbledore looked between the two, then answered "Both."

Snape nodded and sat down on the couch next to Harry. Glaring at Dumbledore for some reason Harry couldn't divine.

"Well now, tell me. How have you two been getting along?"

Harry shrugged as both of the younger men answered "Fine." Snape gave Harry a glare, probably annoyed at speaking together with a Potter.

Dumbledore grinned at them and nodded sagely, then turned to Harry. "Sirius has asked me if you would be willing to visit soon."

Harry sat forward eagerly "When?"

The headmaster chuckled "I think we may be able to manage a visit somewhere next week." Turning to Snape he added "That is, if it's okay with you."

Snape made a face, clearly unhappy with just the thought of Sirius. "As long as I'm not needed as a chaperone, fine."

"I doubt that will be necessary. In fact, I think that would be rather counterproductive."

Harry couldn't help but snicker at that. The headmaster was right. Having Sirius in the room with Snape was like giving the latter a de-aging potion. Harry's godfather was always rather childish, he'd realized that last year. Snape on the other hand, was perfectly mature until Sirius stepped into the room. Then he reverted to his teenage year, getting into verbal spats over every little thing.

Snape shot a glare at him, then returned to the headmaster "Is that all you wanted? I do have some work to get done."

Dumbledore shook his head "No actually. There was something I wanted to ask you." The headmaster paused, apparently expecting Snape to say something. When the potions master remain silent, Dumbledore sighed and continued "There is something I would like you to teach Harry."

Again the headmaster paused, giving Snape the chance to say no in advance, as the dour man usually did when it came to Harry Potter. This time though, Snape merely raised a brow in inquiry. "I want you to teach Harry Occlumency."

Harry had no idea what Occlumency was, but the horrified look on Snape's face told him he really didn't want to know. Or at least, that he really wouldn't want to be thought by the man. "No. There is no way the brat has any aptitude for it. And we both know that I can't teach those without talent."

"He resisted the Imperius."

Snape shot Harry a glance, then shook his head "That doesn't mean he can learn Occlumency. You know it takes a certain kind of mental disposition. Potter doesn't have it."

"Maybe not. But you would never have thought him capable of throwing of the Imperius Curse. He may surprise you."

Snape huffed in annoyance, his face twisting as if he really wasn't happy with what he was going to say. "The fact that I wouldn't have thought him capable of throwing the curse was an oversight on my part. He is stubborn enough for it. However, he is completely incapable of hiding his emotions. You can't learn Occlumency to an open book."

Dumbledore glanced down at the book that was still on the small table, then back at Snape. "Harry is quite capable of telling a believable lie."

Harry blinked at that, then he glanced from Snape to Dumbledore, neither of whom seemed to have anything else the say on the subject. Harry on the other hand, remembered Snape's challenge and asked eagerly "Can Occlumency help me to be a better liar?"

Snape scoffed "Forget it Potter. Not even becoming an Occlumens will help you."

Dumbledore looked from him to the professor with a smile. "Aah, I see a friendly competition." Glancing at Harry with that twinkle in his eyes he asked "What is the challenge?"

"If I can make Professor Snape believe a lie, he will award 100 points to Gryffindor."

Laughing softly, Dumbledore said "Well then, Severus. Teach the child Occlumency and make it an even competition."

"I'm a Slytherin, not a Hufflepuff. We care nothing for fair play."

Dumbledore gave Snape a hard look, then shrugged "Hmm, I suppose you're right. You will still teach him though."

The two men stared at each other for a long time, making Harry feel decidedly uncomfortable. Teachers didn't usually squabble like this when he was present, something that Harry might have found annoying once upon a time. Now though, he sincerely wished the two would just quit it already. Finally, Snape reluctantly agreed and Dumbledore left happy as a clam, promising Harry to let him know when exactly he could visit Sirius.

Snape left soon after and didn't show himself until lunch. When they had eaten, Snape had handed Harry his corrected homework, told him to fix his mistakes, and had once again disappeared. More than a bit curious, Harry tried to find something about Occlumency and why Snape was so against teaching it, but was unsuccessful. Hoping to appease the professor into explaining, he stayed in the library the rest of the day, redoing the essays Snape had checked.

The first comment on every single essay was _Keep practising your writing_ , which in Harry's mind meant _Well done, I can actually read what you wrote._ Seeing as that had been Snape's demand during his writing lessons. For the first week of their stay, Snape had handed him a line to write over and over again, until Snape deemed them readable. The lines had been generally ridiculous things like _My cousin is a whale_ and _I am famous, everybody loves me_. Something that had confused Harry to no end, especially since Snape refused to explain why he had to write those particular things.

But no matter how frustrating, the repeated practise as well as the helpful comments to angle his feather differently and to not grip so tight helped. The mandatory pause after every ten minutes of writing was also very helpful, even a single minute of flexing his fingers was enough to stop the cramp from lasting. In the end, he had written almost one thousand lines, the number necessary for Snape to deem his days' work acceptable went down each day. During the last practise he had written the line _Professor Snape is terrifying and I will never forget it_ ten times and each was deemed sufficient. Snape had told him to continue practising on his own, and continued saying so every time he saw Harry write anything.

As he continued reading over the other comments, he noticed that most of the comments were of the same ilk. About half of Snape's scrawl were scathing remarks about the amount of Quidditch references Harry used. A small part were names of books with chapter numbers, which Harry later realized all held a piece of information Harry had overlooked. And then there were the other notes, most of which were scribbled across his potions homework, that told him he needed to learn how to listen to voices besides his own. Which Harry assumed meant that Snape had told him something that Harry had apparently forgotten to include.

He had looked up most of the chapters Snape had suggested and was positive he had found everything that he was supposed to add. Then he went over the Quidditch references, doing his best to switch them with more acceptable examples. Something at which he failed miserable. He simply knew too little about the wizarding world to make any other references. Using historical events was out of the question due to the sleep inducing professor they had. Ordinary life was out since Harry only had experience with small bits and pieces of the wizarding word. He expected most muggle-born witches and wizards used their breaks to explore the magical world outside of the castle to gain said experience, but Harry never had that option. He was locked away at privet drive during the summers and in Hogwarts during the school year. Wrecking his brain, he tried to think of possible examples to use but gave up when he felt the start of an actual headache coming on. He would just have to ask someone for help. If only there were other options besides Snape.

Groaning at the prospect, he continued on to the last set of comments. The ones that meant Harry had missed some vital information Snape had imparted. For most essays, those kind of comments were easy to fix. They didn't often discuss subjects that were thought at Hogwarts, besides Potions and DADA, so it was easy to suss out which conversation would have included the information. And from there it wasn't that far to remembering the exact piece of information Snape wanted him to add. Remembering things had never been a problem for Harry, it was finding the memory in his brain that caused the problem.

At the end of fixing everything but his potions essay -and his divination essay since Snape refused to even look that over- Harry's forehead was red from all the slaps he'd given it for his own stupidity. It was frustrating to see all the obvious things staring at him. Like each red comment was screaming _Screw your head on Potter, you know this._ It wasn't like Snape's comments were anything new, after all Harry's essays always came back defiled by red ink, it was that the man's comments were right. Before, about half of the comments were mean jibes that were completely useless. Therefore, Harry never had any problem ignoring the comments that were right on the head. Now though, he couldn't just ignore it and he hated the fact that Snape still found so many flaws.

By the time he gave up trying to fix his potions essay, it was dinner time and Harry went downstairs with his essays in hand. Snape had cooked a simple pot-roast, which they ate in silence. Finishing around the same time, Snape vanished the plates and held out a hand for Harry's corrections. Handing him over, he tried to leave the room, but Snape told him to sit and wait.

Snape looked over the changes quickly, while Harry twisted the edge of his robe around his fingers nervously. He knew the man would never accept the essays. He'd left ay to many comments untouched. But he needed him to see he had made an effort. It was the only way Snape would ever listen to his explanation as to why he couldn't fix the rest.

As expected, the head of Slytherin house wasn't pleased with Harry's work. But the things he had done were indeed good enough for Snape to be willing to listen. As Harry explained, the man's face remained blank, making him rather nervous. It turned out to be unwarranted fear. Snape simply inclined his head at Harry's explanation and summoned a few books to the kitchen. Handing them to Harry, he smirked rather evilly "These are a few books that might help. An overview of important historical moments, a collection of fairy tales, a directory of possible jobs and a book with often used household spells and appliances. You can read them this week during study time."

Harry wanted to pull his hair at the addition of more books. If the rest of his summer continued like this, he was going to have an informational overload by the end of July. Biting the inside of his cheek, he tried his best not to say something nasty about more work. He'd asked for help for a reason. He wanted to know more about Occlumency and the only thing that might get Snape in a better mood was showing that Harry really was trying his best. After only a small battle to reign in his annoyance at getting more work instead of actual help, he asked for what he really wanted "Are there any books on Occlumency?"

Snape rolled his eyes at him, making Harry's lip twitch at the silliness of the action coming from Snape. "We will get to Occlumency in time. You will finish the work you have before we start something new."

Harry gaped at him "You just gave me four new books!" Snape gave him that look that screamed _Manners!_ , and Harry looked down "Sorry, sir."

"Those books are meant as reference material. They contain vital information and other material that is often quoted in the wizarding world. When I told you, you could read them during study time this week, I meant that you could leave your homework for this week and read up on some of the material you say you are lacking."

Harry slumped back and looked at the professor with wide eyes "Oh, okay. Thank you, then."

Snape inclined his head and stood up "You may go and read or join me in the lab. Either way, you will be in bed by ten."

Standing up, Harry leaned over the table indignantly "But.. But I never have a bedtime."

Snape conjured a mirror, holding it in front of Harry's face. As the Gryffindor stared at the reflection, his eyes grew wide. He looked absolutely terrible. He had bags under his eyes and his cheeks were as pale as Snape's. Grimacing at himself, he led out a sigh. "It's the nightmares."

"I will give you some dreamless sleep for tonight, under the condition that you speak to somebody about them."

"I can't."

"Why not?" Snape narrowed his eyes. The man had some serious problems with not getting his way. Harry thought he should probably think of ways to say no without giving Snape the idea he was being ignored.

"My nightmares are mine. They won't understand. I'm the-boy-who-lived."

Snape's face went blank, then he inclined his head. "You can come and pick up your potions before bed."

Harry smiled slightly, glad he wouldn't have to make a promise he would never be able to keep to get what he needed. And he needed the dreamless sleep. His reflection had made that clear. Deciding to start the books tonight instead of brewing, Harry grabbed the small book with wizarding bedtime stories and went upstairs.

Another week went by. The mornings he spend in the library, switching between the books Snape had handed him. During the evenings, he switched between brewing with Snape and reading some more. The afternoons however, varied greatly from day to day.

After lunch he went outside for the two hours of free time. Using the time to practise his flying or just to enjoy the sun. After his time outside, Snape either told him to come to his office, or to one of the dungeons.

The time they spend in the office was used for theoretical lesson on subjects like magical society, laws and legalities, the endless possible uses of magic and, according to Snape the most important subject, logic. He didn't mind the lessons about the wizarding world, they were usually rather fascinating. Snape had a way of making even the lessons on etiquette fun, constantly commenting that is was all ridiculous. According to him, social necessities were useless, but only if one knew them. If you didn't know the rules, you would look like an ass by accident instead of design. Which was the epitome of stupidity in Snape's book.

The lessons about using logic on the other hand, were frustrating. Snape had him doing logic puzzles for hours at a time. When a single puzzle took too long, the man started 'helping' in a rather snippy way, and Harry always ended up striding out of the office. Of course, Harry only needed to walk away ones for Snape to change his strategy. He started handing Harry puzzles after each lesson, whether they had done practical work or theoretical. Eventually, Snape didn't need to hound him any longer, since finishing quickly was the only way for them to have dinner without the simmer anger.

The time they spend in the dungeons had quickly become Harry's favourite pastime. Well, it was when Snape wasn't making Harry do complicated potions. Simple potions were fun in the way that it was relaxing. When Harry wasn't making mistakes that pushed Snape to snap, they spend the time in the second dungeon in relative peace. They rarely spoke while working but both of them seemed perfectly happy with that.

The time they spend in the first dungeon though, was the time Harry relished. The dungeon itself was empty. Which was why Snape had chosen it to be the only place in the house where Harry was allowed to use magic. Technically, the ministry wouldn't be able to tell who was using magic anywhere in the house. But Snape had told him in a rather ominous voice that if he felt the need to do magic anywhere else this summer, he would simply have to learn how to do it without a wand. Harry had found it annoying but had quickly realized that it wasn't that bad. He knew some wandless magic, this way he might learn more. It was still miles better than the 'magic is a fairy-tale and doesn't exist, so you better never mention it' rule the Dursleys maintained.

With Snape, Harry was allowed to use magic whenever he wanted. The only stipulation was that wand work belonged in the first Dungeon room, and that he was only allowed in there if he asked Snape first. So far, Snape had never said no to any of the spells Harry wanted to try in there. He'd even given him a general pass for any of the spells from the first three years. Though Snape had followed that up with a threat of scrubbing every toilet in Hogwarts with a toothbrush, if he detected any unauthorised spells. Knowing the potions master, Harry was not stupid enough to test the man's ability to find out.

He had been stupid enough to challenge the professor to a duel ones. He'd been having a good day. He'd finally finished his homework as well as 7 out of 9 books Snape had given him. He'd managed to brew a flawless dreamless sleep potion and he'd learned a new healing spell to mend all kinds of flesh wounds. Then Snape had tried to teach him how to use his patronus to send a message, and Harry had failed. For some reason, he couldn't conjure up the memory. Snape had made some snide comment and Harry had snapped.

The duel hadn't lasted long. Snape was incredibly fast, able to fire three spells for every single one that Harry managed. Harry had managed to shield himself from Snape's barrage by using Protego over and over again. Ones he was able to dodge a spell and took the break in shield charms to fire a Petrificus at Snape. The potions master had simply stepped aside and returned the volley. It took no more than a minute for Snape to catch the Gryffindor of guard and knock him down with a Jelly-legs jinx, but to Harry it felt like a lifetime.

Afterwards, Harry whole body hurt. His arm was tiered, his legs were boneless and every muscle in his body felt as if it was going to die any moment. He had closed his eyes and had fully expected Snape to leave him there. After all, Harry had challenged the man. It had been his own fault.

But then Snape surprised him for the hundredth time this summer when he simply said "Impressive spell work, Potter."

Spanning his eyes open, Harry sat up and stared at the man. He had to be hallucinating. That was a thing right? Auditory hallucinations? But then Snape smirked at him and held out a hand. Harry grabbed it after only a slight hesitation, and led himself be pulled up. He couldn't help the soft groan that escaped him when his full wait was back on his legs. After another minute had gone by and Harry regained his balance, he cast a glance at the professor. "I'm sorry, sir. I shouldn't have snapped at you."

Snape just waved him of. "It would have happened at some point. It's good you learned your lesson now. It will ensure you understand how much work you have left to do when we start your defence training."

Harry groaned again, this time deliberately "We will do this again?"

"Possibly. It hinges on your predisposition to learning to defend yourself. If you manage to progress quickly enough, than yes we may do this again." Harry grimaces, causing Snape to add "If you manage to reach that point, I will give you a free pass on one detention."

Harry snorted "You'll just find a reason to give me a detention during a Quidditch game or something so I will spend it on an unearned detention."

"Fine. I will promise to move any of the detentions I give you so they will never again interfere with Quidditch games, practise not included."

Harry thought that over. That still left him open to punishment during Hogsmead weekends but considering the current state of affairs, no detention during games would have to do. Maybe later he would find a way to make a deal for Hogsmead weekend as well. After all, when he had mentioned the Quidditch games, Snape had done exactly what Harry wanted. That had to indicate it was possible to manipulate the man, right?

After that lesson, they had dinner in relative peace and Harry had retreated to the comfort of his bed immediately after. It was still early but he would be visiting Sirius the following day. He would need to rest now, unless he wanted to be incapable of moving tomorrow. Picking up the Book of Spells, Harry continued reading through it. He still had to read about half of the book before he would be allowed to try any of the spells that hadn't been discussed during his previous years. Before he could get through more than a single page, his eyes started closing, and Harry fell asleep. The book of Spells on his chest, his glasses still on his head, and dressed in the clothes he had been wearing all day; Harry Potter slept better than he had in weeks.

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	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Harry's visit with his godfather was a disaster.

It didn't start out that way. He had arrived just before lunch, after he had made what he hoped to be the last adjustments to his potions essay. Snape had handed him most of his essays with only one or two comments, which he had been able to fix within an hour. His potions essay though, was defiled with so much red it had taken Harry more than three hours to fix all the mistakes. It had annoyed him greatly that Snape had made him fix all of his essays before he was allowed to visit his godfather, and he had been stupid enough to mention it to Sirius.

They had been enjoying a lovely lunch, curtesy of Molly, when Sirius had asked why he hadn't come earlier. Apparently Dumbledore had only told him he would be arriving today, and not given a time. So, Harry had told him that Snape made him finish his homework first, assuming that Sirius, like any other adult who cared about their children, would agree with Snape's actions.

It turned out that Sirius didn't even know of the new arrangement. He still though Harry was staying with the Dursleys. Harry had explained what exactly had happened since the school year had ended. Sirius was mostly silent during the tale, though he did make nasty faces every time Snape was mentioned, until the part where he told him the two of them were living at the Potter mansion. At that, Sirius hit the roof. Completely incensed that not only was his godson being forced to live with Snape, the man was actually allowed to live in James' old home.

He paced around the house for nearly an hour, completely ignoring Harry's attempts to calm him down. Which, if Harry was being honest, was more than a little bit annoying. Did his opinion not matter at all? Harry didn't mind living with Snape, at least not at the moment, and he absolutely loved the fact that they were staying in his father's old home.

It wasn't until Sirius started muttering about forcing Dumbledore to remove Snape from his best friend's house, that Harry put his foot down. He send a wandless stinging hex at Sirius, something he had been working on for occasions just like this. Sirius yelped and turned to glare at Harry, his expression turning from annoyed to flummoxed in less than a second when he glanced down and saw that Harry's wand wasn't anywhere need the boy's hand.

Harry merely lifted a brow at the man. Another thing he had been working on, though not exactly for this situation. In fact, he'd been practising the look purely for Snape. It always seemed to work for Snape and Harry had wanted to try it on the professor, just to see if the man could be affected by the look as his students always were. By Sirius's expression, it seemed to work on him.

His face fell slightly as he stared at Harry "You look so much like him when you do that."

Harry cocked his head in confusion "Who? My father?" Everybody was always telling him he looked like James, and who else would Sirius mean.

Sirius shook his head and grumbled "No, Snape."

The Gryffindor could help but chuckle at that. It wasn't like he wanted to be anything like Snape, the man was way too grouchy for Harry's liking, but clearly he had managed the expression perfectly. Signing as he noticed Sirius' crestfallen look, Harry grabbed his arm and pulled the man to sit next to him. "Look Sirius, I'm really sorry. I know you don't like Snape. I'm not exactly a fan of either, but I'm fine. For ones in my life, I'm actually having a fun summer."

Sirius scoffed at that "I can't imagine Snivelly knows what fun means."

Harry made a face at his godfather's nickname for Snape. It sounded like some of the names the Dursleys come up with, Whining Welp and Potty being the most prevalent.

His godfather seemed to think the face was an indication of the amount of fun Harry was really having and said. "I bet he has you doing chores and homework all day."

Harry shrugged "My only chore is lunch, since Snape is usually in the middle of brewing at noon. And I only had to do homework in the morning. I'm probably done with most of it now, though my potions essay will no doubt be returned scribbled in red."

Sirius blinked at him "He checks your work?"

"Yeah. He's a lot less helpful then Hermione, since we can usually convince her to give us the answer, but it's really useful. I'm definitely getting an O for every assignment. Well, except for Potions, since he'll probably take points for the amount of help he's been giving me."

Seeing the look on his godfather's face, Harry grinned "What, do you want to look my work over to?"

Sirius shook his head rather quickly and returned Harry grin. "No thank you. I swore never to touch another essay as soon as I finished Hogwarts."

"Yeah, I thought you might have."

Sighing, Sirius stretched his legs, relaxing against the back of the couch. Shooting a curious glance at Harry, he asked "So, what was with that stinging hex?"

Biting his lip, Harry tried to shrug the comment of "You were losing it and refused to listen. I've come to realize that sometimes, one has to take drastic measures to get results."

"You learned this while staying with Sniv.." Harry frowned at him and Sirius broke of, shaking his head he rephrased "Snape thought you to do that?"

Harry snickered and shook his head "No, absolutely not. He was being annoying and the thought of it popped into my head. The thought was funny so I've been practising."

"You haven't used it on him but you were fine using it on me?"

"Well, yeah. No offence, but you just aren't that scary. Also, Snape hasn't yet forced me to use it on him. He can get rather testy but lately he's been listening."

Sirius gave him an odd look, one that made Harry want to squirm in his seat. "You talk a lot do you?"

Harry pursed his lips, thinking that over. "Yes and no. Snape insists on lessons everyday between two and five, which usually involve a lot of talking. And it's not like we ignore each other the rest of the time. But it's also not like we talk about anything personal."

"What are these lessons about?"

Smiling, Harry told his godfather about all the things he'd been learning. He was careful to leave out certain things. Like some of the books he'd been reading, and some of the more intense discussing he'd had with Snape. It was probably not a good idea to inform Sirius about the rather ruthless tactics Snape was teaching him nor was it smart to mention the small duel.

If Harry had hoped Sirius would forget about the magic he had used earlier, he would have been seriously disappointed. His godfather listened closely as Harry told him about his summer so far, asking a question here and there, but when the tale was done he asked "So are you going to explain where you learned that kind of magic?"

Harry sighed in resignation. "I've always been able to do it. When I was younger, I used it to unlock my door all the time. I didn't know it was magic, to me it always seemed as if I'd simply wished it to happen. Last year I was training my butt of for the tournament and was often exhausted. So, one night when I was finishing up my homework, I really didn't want to get up to get the book I left on my bed…"

Sirius gave him an incredulous look "You summoned it?"

Harry shook his head "I would have used my wand if that was possible, but the door was closed. I just kind of wished it could appear in front of me, and it did."

"That sounds like you conjured it. Without the use of a wand or spell."

Harry nodded "Yeah, it's like accidental magic but controlled."

Sirius led out a long breath and stared at Harry "You're mother ones told me she used to be able to do something similar but lost the ability."

Harry stared at him "Mum could do it too?"

Sirius grinned "I don't think she ever used it like you. I'm pretty sure she would have used that stinging hex on James and me if she could. But she often complained that she would have been much better at Herbology if she could still make flowers bloom."

Harry bit his lip, slightly worried all of a sudden "Do you think I'll lose it too?"

Sirius shook his head slowly "You're mother lost it soon after coming to Hogwarts. Like most children, she learned to reign in her accidental magic and lost access. She was still gifted with wandless magic but she could no longer wish for the flowers to bloom."

Harry sighed "It's strange that every magical child has done that kind of magic, yet there are very few wizards who retain the ability into adulthood."

"Not really. Children are generally more open. Their limited experience means they have no concept of what should and should not be possible. When you grow up, you learn the ways of the world as those around you see it. We are thought that accidental magic cannot be controlled, and we believe it because memories of childhood are often fussy. It's like an internal block that is extremely hard to overcome."

Harry gaped at his godfather "Since when did you become so smart?"

Sirius grinned at him "It was actually Remus who said that. Or at least something similar."

"So… Do you think everybody could learn how to use that kinds of magic?"

Sirius shook his head sadly "No. There are very few children who manage to truly control their magic. Personally, I never learned any control until I gained my wand. Those that do learn control rarely learn how to do it consistently, since their magic is usually too weak at that age."

"Do you know how easy it was for my mother?"

Sirius shook his head, his lips thinned for a moment before he said "Ask Snape. They were friendly for a while."

Harry bit his lower lip. He really wanted to ask more but he had a feeling Sirius wouldn't welcome questions. Harry's parents were still a sore subject, one nobody but Harry wanted to discuss. So, he followed Sirius' silent suggestion and changed the subject. "So, tell me about you. What are you doing in this godforsaken house?"

Sirius grimaced and started explaining all about Gimmauld Place. Apparently, it was his family home and Sirius had moved back at Dumbledore's request. Harry couldn't help but wonder why Dumbledore kept putting people where they didn't want to be.

Sirius also explained about the Order and how they were all trying to find out what was going on. He looked like there was something he really wanted to say but eventually decided against it. Leaving Harry to consider ones more what exactly they were hiding from him.

Harry tried to get more information on the war from Sirius but gave up rather quickly. It wasn't working and Sirius was getting agitated. So Harry changed the subject to James and listened as Sirius regaled him with stories of their youth. It seemed to be one of Sirius' favourite pastimes, reminiscing about the past. Time went by quickly as he told his stories with a smile on his lips and a faraway look in his eyes, and before they knew it, it was time for dinner.

Harry had promised to make a pizza for Sirius and went to the kitchen, his godfather following close-by. They chatted a bit about random things as Harry went around the kitchen and rather the ingredients from the pantry. He pushed up his sleeves without much thought and went to grab and egg when Sirius grabbed him.

Looking at Sirius, he saw the man glare in fury at his arm. He followed the man's glare and winced inwardly as he saw the gigantic bruise that spanned his loved arm. He hadn't really notice the bruise before but seeing it now, he realized he'd been extremely lucky it hadn't been broken. Seeing the murderous look on Sirius' face, he pulled away and stepped back.

"What did that bastard do to you?" His eyes were narrowed as he practically hissed the question.

Harry shook his head "Nothing, I just fell."

Sirius' eyes widened "You fell?" His voiced cracked and he stalked out of the kitchen. "I'm going to kill him. He's not going to get away with this."

Harry heard the threat and followed Sirius into the living space, trying to get him to calm down. It didn't work though, Sirius' steady stream of curses and insults kept him from hearing anything Harry had to say. Not even the stinging hex could stop his godfather as he paced furiously.

Harry watched it for a while, thinking it would eventually end. It wasn't like Sirius could actually get to Snape. But as time went by, Sirius didn't seem to calm down at all. He was still pacing, throwing out some choice curses every so often, and not at all listening to anything Harry had to say.

After an hour, Harry tried another stinging hex to get the man to pay attention to him. This time, is worked. Sirius made a small jump and turned to glare at Harry, his lips pressed firmly together. Thinking the man understood that Harry had something to say and he should really listen, Harry started "Sirius, please. Severus didn't hurt me."

Sirius' eyes widened "He makes you call him by his first name?" He sounded disgusted at the thought.

Harry, a bit insulted at the thought of being made to do anything, glared at his godfather "He makes me do nothing. And I used his first name because you seem incapable of understanding that things are fine between Snape and myself."

Sirius opened his mouth to say something but Harry held up a hand and returned to glaring at the man. "He took me away from the Dursleys. I have been trying to get away from there for years. He was the only one who ever did anything about it."

"I didn't know Harry, please."

Harry shrugged "It doesn't matter if you knew. What matters is that from all the people who supposedly care for me, it was the one who seemed to despise me most that got me out. It doesn't matter that it was simply because he happened to be there, happened to actually see it with his own eyes. What matters is that he saw. He doesn't think of me as The-Boy-Who-Lived or my father's clone anymore. I'm sorry if you don't like it Sirius, but I trust Snape. He may not be the nicest person in the world but he's learned to see me has Harry. It's nice to have somebody see me as me instead of some fiction that doesn't exist."

Sirius gaped at him "I don't think you are James clone. I know you're not him."

"Maybe you do, most of the time. But you're like Ron. Most of the time I'm just Harry, but ones every so often you expect me to be James, just like Ron expects me to be The-Boy-Who-Lived."

"And you think Snape doesn't think of you as the Potter Brat any longer?"

Harry smiled "Ooh, I'm sure he does. It's not easy to let go of preconceptions. But unlike everybody else, he admits that he has some misconceptions that he needs to work on."

Sirius shook his head, clearly not getting a word of what Harry was saying. "He's trying to manipulate you Harry, can't you see that? Look at what he did to your arm."

Harry threw up his arms in aggravation and grabbed the tin with flu-powder. Sirius wasn't going to listen to him, not when it came to Snape, and Harry kind of had enough. If his godfather was unwilling to believe him, there was really no reason to stay. He threw a handful of powder in the fire and stepped in. With one last glare at Sirius his said "Potter Pride" and zoomed away.

Harry stumbled into the sitting room of Potter Mansion. Still furious at Sirius' complete lack of attention to anything he said, he stalked to the door, fully intending of retreating to his room. He was stopped by a hand on his shoulder and Snape's near whisper of "Potter, wait."

Harry turned and looked at his current guardian. "Yes, sir?"

Snape scrutinized him for a long moment before leading him back towards the sofa and motioning for Harry to sit down. Harry followed the directions reluctantly, waiting for Snape to explain what he wanted.

"What happened?"

Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He really didn't want to talk about this, especially not with Snape, but he knew the man well enough to know he wasn't going to let it go. So, Harry told the truth, part of it anyway. "He won't listen. He's so wrapped up in his hatred for you, what I want doesn't even cross his mind."

"Aah" Snape sat back, obviously unsure what to say to that.

Harry shot him a wry smile "I was used to not being listened to, you know. Until you took me away from my family."

Snape just kept staring at him. A completely flummoxed expression crossing his face for a single moment. "You expected better from your godfather because of the decline in animosity between us?"

"Well no, not exactly." Raking a hand through his hair, he tried to find some way to explain it. "It's just… I was used to everybody seeing what they want to see. Even Ron and Hermione do it sometimes. But then you got over it. I suppose I was just thinking maybe I could make Sirius see too."

Snape sighed and shook his head "I realized I was wrong due to circumstance. If you want Sirius to see you for who you really are, you'll either have to shock him into it or hang around him so much that he can't get around the truth."

"I doubt simply being around will change much. Like everybody else, he's convinced he known what's best for me."

"You are a child and he's an adult, Potter. That usually means he should know best."

Harry grimaced at that "Do you think you know better than me what's best for me?"

Snape didn't answer for the longest time, clearly considering the question before he said, very slowly "I think nobody really knows what's best for you at this moment."

"What do you mean?" Harry was frowning, not certain what Snape meant by that. He'd expected the man to say that yes, he did know better. He hadn't considered the possibility of the dour man admitting that maybe neither of them really knew what was best at the moment.

"It means that I have come to the conclusion that we are all missing pieces of information. A year ago I would have thought that yes, I know best. I know better now. But you need to realize that, that doesn't mean you know everything you need to know."

Harry sighed. There was the crux of the matter. Harry was aware he didn't, knew there were things they were keeping from him. "Then tell me."

Snape shook his head "Not yet, it's too dangerous."

"Then when? What do I need to do to get the full picture?"

"Study hard and follow my directions the rest of the summer. We will talk of this again before you return to school."

Harry wanted to protest. He wanted to know what was going on and he really didn't want to wait. Snape was helping him learn a lot of cool stuff but very little of it seemed useful in the current situation. And it wasn't like Harry had the time to go through school and learn like everybody else. He needed to learn how to fight, how to survive the madman on his tail. He couldn't do that if everybody kept thinking of him as some helpless child. But Snape's concern was valid. He hadn't outright said it but Harry understood the danger of the connection between himself and Riddle. Harry could see through his eyes, what was to say that Tom couldn't see through Harry's eyes. His eyes widened at the sudden realization.

"That's why the headmaster hasn't really looked at me since the graveyard, isn't it? He's afraid what he'll see."

"What are you blathering about? You've had several conversations with the headmaster this summer."

Harry tapped his chin in though "Hmm, yes. But not ones has he looked me in the eyes. I know you think I'm self-absorbed but Dumbledore has been acting different these past weeks, and it's not just because Riddle is back. The headmaster doesn't trust me because of the connection I have with Tom."

Snape pinched the bridge of his nose, a gesture he was making more and more lately. "The headmaster has not been inclined to confide in me when it comes to that connection but I suspect that you are right, to an extent. It is very possible that he wished you to learn Occlumency for precisely that reason."

"Occlumency will stop the visions?"

"Possibly. Occlumency allows the practitioner to shield his or her mind from outside intrusion. It is meant as a counter to Legilimency. Whether it will help with you block the connection between you and the Dark Lord has yet to be determined."

"Then why aren't you teaching me? Shouldn't keeping Tom out of my mind be a priority?"

"It's not all about you Potter."

Harry rolled his eyes "True, it's about you. If Riddle finds his way into my head, he may find out about our current living situation."

Snape glared at him "I'm assuming that was not meant as a threat."

"It was meant as genuine concern. Having visions has up and downsides, if it was just about getting rid of them I might not care. Having him in my head… That's a whole different problem. I need to know what's going on if I'm going to survive. I can't have that bastard roaming around in my head and risk giving away secrets."

The corner of Snape's mouth twitched as he inclined his head towards Harry. "My apology, I should not have snapped at you. Teaching you Occlumency is not something I'm particularly looking forward to."

"Why?"

Snape sighed and stood up. "We will talk about that tomorrow. For now, you should ask that elf for some dinner. You can use tonight to go over all you've learned this past weeks. You will have to answer some questions before we continue with new subjects."

Harry watched Snape walk away and wondered what the problem was with teaching him Occlumency. They'd been getting along fine for the past weeks and Snape had even taught him some things about potions. Surely, if the man managed to actually teach Potions to Harry, Occlumency should be no problem. If Snape thought it would be worse than Potions class, Harry might just change his mind about wanting to learn.

The following morning, Snape knocked on his door two hours earlier than usual. Having been up and about since 5 am due to nightmares, Harry opened the door already dressed. Snape had handed him a shirt and some shorts, all in black of course, told him to change close and meet him outside as soon as possible.

The Gryffindor grinned, he knew what this was about. Two weeks had passed by and he was finally getting that physical training. Harry wasn't overly athletic, the only sport he ever played was Quidditch and he was perfectly fine with that. But he had been looking forward to showing Snape that, unlike his pansy Slytherin team, the Gryffindors we in shape both on and of a broom.

Harry ran outside, happy to get some extra fresh air. The normal two hours a day were starting to seem rather short, in comparison to the amount of time he spend inside the house, specifically the dungeon. Snape was sitting in one of the lawn chair, lounging back with a book on his lap. Not even looking up from his book, he waved his wand and a timer appeared in mid-air. Snape told him to start running and with another flick, the timer started counting.

Harry did as he was told and ran running clockwise around the mansion. It turned out that the house was rather large, one round was about equal to twice the Quidditch pitch. Still he ran the first round quickly, only slowing down marginally for the second. On the third round though, his pace started decreasing in a steady pace, his breathing became laboured halfway through the lap. By the time Snape came in sight again, he was holding his sight and his gate was more of stumbling than running. As he reached the law chairs, he collapsed in the grass not even trying to make it to the furniture.

There was a long silence as Harry did his best to regain control over his breathing, as well as his heart rate. Glancing over at the timer, he groaning silently as he noticed that the three rounds had taken him 30 minutes. Snape had said he needed to run for a full hour each morning.

From the corner of his vision he noticed Snape getting up and he tensed, waiting for the order to get up and finish the hour. Without a word, Snape grabbed his hand and pulled him upright.

Handing the Gryffindor a bottle of water, he waited for the boy to drink before he said. "You are supposed to be working on conditioning, not sprinting. Next time, don't be a foul and pace yourself."

Harry sighed but nodded reluctantly. Snape was probably right. He'd tried to run as fast as he could, just to prove to Snape that he wasn't the lay slacker the man thought him to be. "Sorry, sir."

Snape waved him of "Don't bother. That first lap took you only seven minutes, that's quite impressive. Just remember that tomorrow, you won't get away with a stunt like that."

Tilting his head upward, Harry gave his professor a questioning glance "Tomorrow?"

"From now on, you will be running every morning before breakfast. Go take a shower, we have some things to take care of today."

Harry did as asked and ran upstairs for a quick shower. As he entered the kitchen ten minutes later, breakfast was already on the table, waiting for him. Smiling slightly as the amazing meals he'd been having lately, Harry dug in with relish. The morning exercise had let him famished, even the disapproving shake of Snape's head didn't make him slow down.

After they both had something to eat, Snape returned all of Harry's summer essays with an actual smile on his face. The expression was such a surprise to the boy that he sat there completely frozen, until Snape cleared his throat and waved for Harry to take the essays. Harry had looked at the parchments and gave a wide grin when he noticed none of them held any red. Looking at Snape with some surprise he asked "There is nothing left for me to improve?"

Snape shook his head "There was very little to improve in the first place."

"But… But you made me rewrite them at least three times." Harry sputtered, too shocked to decide whether he should be angry or not.

Snape shrugged lightly "You wrote perfectly acceptable essays for students your age. I do not accept perfectly acceptable, especially not from you."

Harry narrowed his eyes and glared at the older man "That's not fair. Why would I be any different from the other students?"

Again, that light shrug. "Because you have brains." Waving a hand, Snape sent the dishes away, then dismissed Harry. "Go put your stuff away and meet me at the entrance in ten minutes. We have some errant to run."

Half an hour later, Harry was running after his professor, trying to keep up with the man as they strode through a muggle shopping centrum. During their trip with that wretched Knight-bus, Harry had tried to get Snape to tell him where they were going, but the man wouldn't budge. As they'd arrived in London, Harry had been confused as to what they were doing there. They couldn't be visiting Diagon Alley since they couldn't be seen together, and Harry simply couldn't imagine Snape needing something in Muggle London.

That was, until Snape suddenly stopped in front of a store with a bunch of glasses in the display cases. Ushering Harry inside, Snape followed closely and led him to a counter. A moment later, a tall lady with classes on the tip of her nose appeared.

Looking at Snape she asked "Can I help you gentlemen?"

Snape nodded and put a hand on Harry's head. "This young man needs a pair of reconstructive glasses."

The woman's eyes widened as she looked at Harry. Then she looked around the store suspiciously, as if checking that nobody was listening in, and leaned forward to ask in a whisper. "Has he been tested for direct magical treatment?"

Snape scoffed "I'm afraid that is not in our price range. The glasses will have to do."

The woman pursed her lips, looking for Snape to Harry with a pensive look. Then she shook her head. "Let me test him. If he's a candidate I know someone would be willing to help for free."

Snape just stared at her, clearly not comprehending what she was saying. Harry on the other hand, knew exactly what the woman was doing. People in the magical community were overly nice to him, not because they thought he needed it, but because they thought he was a hero and therefor deserved it. It aggravated Harry.

Shaking his head, he spoke up. "I'm sorry mam, I can't take your charity." Then he glanced at Snape, about to ask if he couldn't pay for it with the money from his family vault. Surely this was a good reason to use it, right? Before he could ask though, the woman spoke again.

"It wouldn't be charity, Mr Potter. It would be a gift, one you deserve." Harry opened his mouth to protest but the woman shook her head and smiled at him. "Consider it a gift to your mother. She would have wanted you to accept this."

Harry noticed Snape frown and step forward, as if to say something. Before he could, Harry asked "How do you now my mum?"

"I was one of the students she tutored in charms. I would not have become both a magical as well as muggle optometrist without her help. This is the least I can do to pay her back for her kindness. Now, will you follow me so we can do those tests?"

Sighing, Harry nodded in resignation. It still felt kind of like charity to him but he couldn't say no. If she wanted to help him because of his mother, who was he to refuse. It was a lot easier to say no when it was some stranger offering kindness because of their hero-worshipping.

Ones they were in a separated room and Snape had closed the door behind them, the woman told him to sit. She then proceeded to cast a few spells on him, which she finished with a delighted smile. After that, she made him sit behind some kind of contraption that Harry suspected to be a muggle device, and made him read a bunch of letters. After repeated the process a few times, each with a different lens in front of his eye, she moved the machine and told him to wait.

Harry sat there, twisting his fingers in his robes and biting his lips nervously. He never had an eye examination and had always assumed them to be much worse. The fact that they turned out to be so simple and painless had him on edge. Things were never this easy.

What seemed like ages later, the woman reappeared holding a blue folder and still smiling brightly. She handed the folder over to Harry. "Congratulations young man, you are a candidate for a treatment that will restore your eyesight completely within a matter of weeks."

Harry accepted the folder, and looked from her to Snape with wide eyes. His voice rose a few pitches a he asked "A matter of _weeks_?"

The woman nodded cheerily. "Correct. All it will take is a few potions and some charms and you're all set. Though, I must point out that the correction may wear off after time."

"How much time?" Harry would be delighted to be rid of the glasses, as they were a right nuisance, but he couldn't risk his vision leaving him unexpectedly. With his luck it would happen right before Riddle cast the killing curse on him.

"It depends mostly on the strength of the potion. The potions I order are said to last anywhere between twenty and thirty years."

Snape scoffed "If the child decides to go through with this, I will provide the potion myself."

Harry gave his professor a grateful smile. He didn't like taking potions, he never had. They tasted vile and were way too easy to screw up. If he was going to take them, he'd much rather they come from Snape. Harry smiled inwardly, now that was a strange thought. A month ago he would have considered anything coming from Snape liable to be poison and now he was thinking the complete opposite. Deciding to think on that particular change later, he asked "If you made it, could you be more precise in the time? I mean ten years is an awfully long stretch. It would be nice if I only needed to carry glasses as backup for a year or so."

The woman glanced between Snape and Harry, then said hesitantly "I'm sorry, but I can't do that. I will need to use the charm and I can't just use any potion that's handed to me. I need to be certain of the quality."

Harry glanced at Snape and snickered softly at the man's expression. Figuring it best that his professor didn't piss of the nice lady, Harry said "This is Potions Master Severus Snape, Ma'am. I'm positive his potion will be more than sufficient."

Snape shot Harry a withering glare, but Harry ignored it in favour of watching the expressions on the lady's face. It was rather amusing to see her go from recognition to wide-eyed shock to confusion. "I remember you. You were in Lily's year, Slytherin if I'm not mistaken." Shooting a nervous look to Harry, she added "I heard you followed _him_."

Snape sneered at her "I did, that's why I'm here with the bloody boy-who-lived."

The woman didn't seem to get the sarcasm and she recoiled slightly. Obviously perturbed by the man's statement. Harry could help but roll his eyes at his teacher. Patting the woman's arm, he told her calmly "Don't worry about him. Without a cauldron to brew his nasty poison, he's not much of a threat."

The woman give him a wide-eyed look while Snape smirked at him; whether it came amusement at his statement or was due to him planning how to prove the statement wrong, Harry wasn't certain. The woman led out a short huff of exasperation and shook her head. "You clearly have your father's humour, your mother was never that cruel."

Harry sucked in a breath at that, completely taken aback. "I'm sorry. I didn't meant to scare you." He tried to apologize, eyes wide with horror. He wasn't the kind of person who made jokes at others expense. A bit of dark humour was one thing, actually hurting somebody with his words was a whole other can of worms.

The woman took a deep breath, apparently steadying herself, then patted his arm. "Don't worry Mr. Potter. It is not your fault. We all deal differently with our problems. I ran away from the magical world, hid as a muggle, when the war was raging. I am not one for violence and I had the luxury to get away from it. I have a feeling you don't have that choice."

Biting his lip, Harry shook his head. No, He never had the option of running away. If he tried, no matter where he went, Riddle would follow him. He had no idea why the maniac had come after him in the first place, but he knew that Tom wouldn't stop until he finished what he set out to do.

The woman patted his arm again and smiled softly. "Then nobody can blame you for dealing with your hardships with a little dark humour. Now, as for this treatment. If you're truly against using the potion I have in stock, you will have to return here when you have the potion you wish to use. The charms must be applied between one and two hours after taking the first potion. After that, you will need to drink one vial of the potion as soon as your vision start to become blurry. Usually, you won't need the potion any longer after three to four weeks."

"How many vials does it usually take?" Snape asked, clearly interested again now that they were talking about the potion.

The woman looked at him, completely professional now "The potions usually wears off after two to four hours for the first day. After that the interval will grow with two hours after each potion. The longest treatment I have ever given took six weeks and over sixty vials of potion. For some reason, she was stuck at a 24 hour interval for two extra weeks."

Snape nodded slowly, wearing that look he always had when he was measuring ingredients. "Do you have the recipe at hand?"

The woman shook her head "I can have it send to you by the end of next week."

Snape inclined his head, then glanced at Harry "I suppose you still want new glasses for now?"

Harry looked down, feeling uncomfortable all of a sudden. He didn't need new glasses. These had served him fine for years, and they could continue to do so for the few weeks they were needed. Yet, he had always wanted glasses that were actually meant for him.

Somehow Snape seemed to read him. Harry saw him nod towards the optometrist as he asked "The frames will do for now, no need getting used to new frames when he only needs them for a short time, but he needs new lenses."

Harry gave Snape a grateful smile as he handed his glasses over to be refitted with a set of lenses that were actually made for him.

Two hours later, Harry was sitting opposite of Snape on a small table in a bistro. After the optometrist had handed Harry his new glasses –and Harry had looked around amazed at the sudden clarity for a full ten minutes– they had gone on to a department store and Snape had ordered him to buy a new wardrobe.

He hadn't specified what exactly he wanted Harry to buy and the Gryffindor didn't think he needed that much. Had he been able to get some of his own money, he probably would have bought more. He'd been dying to spend some of his money on decent muggle clothes for ages but hadn't had the chance. The problem was that Snape was buying him this stuff, and Harry had no idea what the motivation was behind it. The charity without reason had made him feel uncomfortable.

So, after about half an hour, Harry had returned with a handful of shirts, some jeans, and a bunch of new socks –he hadn't been able to bring himself to grab underwear, even though he knew he needed some. Snape hadn't been happy at all. Extremely aggravated, he had led Harry around on a merry chase as he grabbed everything he thought Harry needed. Surprisingly, Snape included several blue shirts, a few greens, and even a red one –though not Gryffindor red. He had directed Harry to try three pairs of slacks, a suit jacket and even a pair of shorts.

The trek through the store with Snape took over an hour as Snape led him from one department to an hour. Directing him to try this or that and making him choose between colours and so on. In the end, Snape had bought him clothes for every single occasion. Everything Harry would ever need, from formal to informal, from hot to cold weather, Harry had something to wear. Snape had even included swim trunks, pointing out that the ones he had used during the second task were 'less than flattering'.

Harry had tried to protest several times during the insanity, but Snape had waived him off. When he had been about to buy an overly expensive three piece suit, Harry had protested so loudly Snape had decided to bribe him. He would allow Harry to pay him back for all the clothes the boy wanted to keep, as long as he kept his mouth shut until it was time for lunch.

After that, Harry had stayed silent. Snape was allowing to pay him for the stuff he liked, and he wasn't forcing him to accept the things he didn't like. It was a better deal than he had expected when the day started.

By the time they ordered lunch, Harry had already decided that he was going to keep everything Snape had bought. Even the silly formal wear the man had insisted on buying. He'd grown a lot during the last two weeks. So much so that he had a feeling some of the aches in his back were not entirely caused by his constant studying or the regular brewing he was doing lately. He hadn't asked but he thought it was due to one of the potions Snape had been giving him lately.

He reasoned that he wasn't going to grow much more, since Snape obviously thought this was the perfect moment to do an inordinate amount of shopping. So the clothes would be fine for several years. And with his strange life, it was best to be prepared for all occasions.

So they ate their lunch in silence and left to return home without any more words on the clothing matter. Snape led them to an alleyway and shrunk all their packages so they fit in their pockets. Once that was done, he held onto Harry's shoulders and apparated them away.

They appeared a moment later in front of the Potter mansion, Snape steadied him while Harry tried to keep his nausea to a minimum. After taking some steading breaths, he looked up with a smile and followed Snape inside.

Snape brought the packages to Harry's room and put them on his bed. Unshrinking them with a few wand movement, he told the Gryffindor to meet him in the library as soon as he was done unpacking his new clothes.

Ones again, Harry followed Snape's directions without any complaint. He was doing that a lot lately and as he unpacked, he tried to figure out why. He realized that at the moment, he didn't have much choice. Snape was going to brew a potion to restore Harry's eyesight. He was stupid enough to mess up his chance at perfect sight over something as stupid as being forced to unpack new clothes.

Except that that didn't explain why Harry had not made a single comment about the earlier order to go shower. That had been a completely reasonable request of course, but it had been given as an order. Harry didn't like orders. He had taken them from his family for much too long.

Sighing, he let the question of why he was listening to Snape go as he put away his last pair of socks. As long as Snape was being reasonable, it didn't matter. After all, the Gryffindor had been pretty clear at the start of this arrangement that he wasn't going to do anything unless he has a good reason. Well, he had good reasons for everything he had done so far. If Snape saw his obedience as anything besides acceptance of a logical request, that was Snape's problem.

As soon as Harry sat down on of the chairs in the library, Snape started questioning him about the things he had learned in the past two weeks. It wasn't like the questions Snape usually asked at the start of potions. He didn't care about any particular potion of spell that Harry had learned. Instead, he gave the boy scenarios, each with a different problem Harry had to solve.

One question was all about protecting two children while fighting of an attack without doing anything that might scare the children. It asked for some inventive protection as well as some sneaky spell work. What made it even more challenging was Snape's addition comment that the attackers were throwing some explosive potions.

Harry's only solution was using a runic ward, one that would form an almost solid barrier. He didn't know the exact runes but Snape has surprised him by saying that the runes weren't important. Apparently, it was not expected of Harry to retain that kind of detail, only the idea's and possibilities mattered.

After that, the answers had become slightly easier for the Gryffindor. He had learned so much in such a short time, that he had to agree with Snape about the details. He simply couldn't retain them. He had however gained so much general knowledge that he could now see many more options when given a problem.

In answer to getting rid of the attackers without scaring the children, Harry had proposed making the attackers believe there was some kind of predator after them. Snape had given him a strange look and asked how he thought that would be done. Harry had shrugged and told the man he had no idea. But if you could go through someone's memories, as well as erase them, it was only logical there would be some way to change them. Of course, Harry understood that giving someone a vision was slightly different from affecting past memories but hey, everything was possible with magic.

Snape had shaking his head at him, either in amusement or astonishment, Harry couldn't tell. Snape had refused to tell him whether it was possible or not but the potions master had accepted Harry's answer as acceptable.

Another scenario that had amused Harry was the invitation to a formal dinner with the Malfoy's. Harry had laughed his way through that answer. He mentioned all the formalities and niceties Snape had been teaching him but only while explaining all the things he wouldn't do. Instead, he told Snape, with a perfectly straight face, that he was going to use the steak knife to ensure Draco would remain an only child. His napkin would combine nicely with a permanent sticking charm, to keep Draco from spewing more of his venom, and he was certain colour of wine was much more vibrant when applied to a pretty carpet.

Snape's lips had twitched at some of his comments but he hadn't said a word until Harry was done. At which point the only comment was a dry "At least it won't be ignorance that induces you to behave like an ape."

Harry's favourite scenarios were the ones that asked for battle strategy. Snape would set him some enemies and allies, and tell him were the battle took place. Harry was then expected to think of a strategy to accomplish a certain goal.

He was particularly fond of the fight that supposedly took place in the forbidden forest. The place held so many things one could use in a duel, Harry took nearly half an hour to go over all the possibilities. It wasn't the amount of things one could do with the trees, which varied from hiding behind them to ripping out a whole tree and using it as a clobber.

It were all the animals that kept Harry going. Snape had clearly not considered involving them, since he kept staring at Harry as if the boy had gone mental. But Harry had gotten to know one of the centaurs and was certain they would help. The same went for many of the other creatures, such as the hippogryphs and thestrals. They may not be on friendly terms with the Gryffindor, but Harry had learned that you could get the help of the vilest creatures as long as you gave them an enemy worse than you.

It was especially fun for Harry to see the look on Snape's face as he mentioned the spiders. The man gave a visible shudder but sat forward in rapt attention. Apparently, the spiders produced a venom that was an extremely valuable potions ingredient.

When Harry mentioned the Weasleys car that was hiding in the forest, just to cover all his bases, Snape cut him off. Though, he did so with a smirk on his face that Harry read as a mask to cover the actual smile. It had taken Harry a week to realize that Snape did have a sense of humour, and it wasn't all dark humour and sarcasm either.

He had realized that when Harry had fallen headfirst into one of the cauldrons he was cleaning. Snape had started scolding him about the dangers of skin contact with certain potions but halted halfway through his rant. Harry had just come up from the cauldron full of soap water; his glasses were balancing precariously on the tip of his nose, his hair was plastered to his head and water wat dripping everywhere. Snape had given him a look and abruptly started laughing. By then, Harry had seen the man fail to hold in a smile twice, yet the full laughter still had him rooted to the spot. Snape had returned to his serious state quickly and continued his lecture on safety in the lab, but Harry would never forget Snape's laughter.

Since then, he tried his best to make the man smile. It wasn't easy, especially since Snape could never find out what he was doing, but Harry decided it was worth it. The potions master needed some laughter in his life, no matter how much the man protested that he did not.

Snape had him working on the scenarios until it was time for dinner. While they ate, Snape continued his test by asking questions, mostly about Harry's summer assignments. Both wizards seemed completely astounded when Harry was able to answer every single question in detail, without really having to think about it.

During the evening, Snape had him discuss all the things he had learned. It started with all the laws and the way magical society work. This Harry agreed with and things he would change. The biggest dispute between the two wizards was on the laws concerning dark creatures. While Snape agreed that the rhetoric the Ministry showed the werewolf population was a problem, he was completely against werewolf children attending Hogwarts. Harry understood why, and he couldn't blame the man, but he was still all for it no matter how much Snape protested.

To avoid a fall out between the two, the subject was changed to magic. More specifically, the different kinds of magic and all the way they could be used. It was a subject the two had discussed multiple times already. Snape's extensive knowledge on all things magical and Harry's curiosity on the subject often let them to discussing possibilities, especially when combining certain aspects of magic.

Harry always like those conversations, the potions master always had some kind of insight Harry had not yet considered, and he had a feeling Snape felt the same. More than ones he had seen a look of surprise on the wizard's face during those talks, and Harry suspected that surprise was not something the older wizard experienced often. Like laughter, the Gryffindor made it his mission to bring some more surprises to the man's life.

Time passed quickly as the two talked. Too absorbed in whatever the subject of the moment, neither wizard noticed when midnight rolled past. Somewhere late in the night, or possibly early in the morning Harry had no idea, Snape told him to go to bed and get some sleep. Tomorrow would be a new day and since Harry had passed his test, he was going to be introduced to a whole new part of his training.

As Harry fell in bed, still wearing his clothes, he was slightly concerned with the way Snape had said that last sentence. The way the man had emphasised 'training' was something to be concerned about. Not because Harry was at all against some defence training, he was going to need it when Riddle showed up next, but because Harry had a feeling this was going to be the part of training that had made Snape willing to become his guardian. With another sigh, Harry closed his eyes and tried to put all of his worries out of his mind. Tomorrow was a new day, and he was positive Snape would not care how late they had gone to bed when it was 6am and time for Harry's morning run.


End file.
